tihvavy  of  trhe  trheolojical  ^tmimry 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


•a^D- 


PRESENTED  BY 

Estate  of 
Professor  Walter  M,  Rankin 


^ll.tl) 


SiOGWM  81^ 


fiDemoirs  of  flDarguerite  be  IDalote  ^  ^ 

QUEEN  OF  NA  VARRE,  WRITTEN  BY 
HERSELF 


PRINTED   FOR 

MERRILL    6-    BAKER 

NEW   YORK 


EDITION  DE    GRAND   LUXE 

LIMITED    TO    ONE    THOUSAND    COPIES 


No.  '^.^..k 


TYPOGRAPHY,  BLECTROTYPING  AND 
PRINTING  BY  THE  COLONIAL  PRESS. 
C.  H.  SIMONDS  <S^  CO.,  BOSTON.  U.  S.  A. 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE. 

This  volume  of  the  Historic  Memoir  Series  will,  it 
is  confidently  anticipated,  prove  to  be  of  an  interest 
at  least  equal  to  that  of  any  of  its  predecessors.  These 
Letters  first  appeared  in  French,  in  1628,  just  thir- 
teen years  after  the  death  of  their  witty  and  beautiful 
authoress,  who,  whether  as  the  wife  for  many  years 
of  the  great  Henri  of  Prance,  or  on  account  of  her 
own  charms  and  accomplishments,  has  always  been 
the  subject  of  romantic  interest. 

The  letters  contain  many  particulars  of  her  life, 
together  with  many  anecdotes  hitherto  unknown  or 
forgotten,  told  with  a  saucy  vivacity  which  is  charm- 
ing, and  an  air  vividly  recalling  the  sprightly,  arch 
demeanour,  and  black,  sparkling  eyes  of  the  fair 
Queen  of  Navarre.  She  died  in  1615,  aged  sixty- 
three. 

These  letters  contain  the  secret  history  of  the 
Court  of  France  during  the  seventeen  eventful  years 
1565-82. 

The  events  of  the  seventeen  years  referred  to  are 
of  surpassing  interest,  including,  as  they  do,  the  Mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew,  the  formation  of  the  League, 


vi  PUBLISHER'S  NOTE. 

the  Peace  of  Sens,  and  an  account  of  the  religious 
struggles  which  agitated  that  period.  They,  besides, 
afford  an  instructive  insight  into  royal  life  at  the 
close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  modes  of  travel- 
ling then  in  vogue,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
time,  and  a  picturesque  account  of  the  city  of  Liege 
and  its  sovereign  bishop. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  these  Memoirs  first 
appeared  in  French  in  1628.  They  vrere,  thirty 
years  later,  printed  in  London  in  English,  and  were 
again  there  translated  and  published  in  1813. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 

The  Memoirs,  of  which  a  new  translation  is  now 
presented  to  the  public,  are  the  undoubted  composi- 
tion of  the  celebrated  princess  whose  name  they  bear, 
the  contemporary  of  our  Queen  Elizabeth, —  of  equal 
abilities  with  her,  but  of  far  unequal  fortunes.  Both 
Elizabeth  and  Marguerite  had  been  bred  in  the  school 
of  adversity ;  both  profited  by  it,  but  Elizabeth  had 
the  fullest  opportunity  of  displaying  her  acquirements 
in  it.  Queen  Elizabeth  met  with  trials  and  diffi- 
culties in  the  early  part  of  her  life,  and  closed  a  long 
and  successful  reign  in  the  happy  possession  of  the 
good-will  and  love  of  her  subjects.  Queen  Mar- 
guerite, during  her  whole  life,  experienced  little  else 
besides  mortification  and  disappointment ;  she  was 
suspected  and  hated  by  both  Protestants  and  Catho- 
lics, with  the  latter  of  whom,  though,  she  invariably 
joined  in  communion,  yet  was  she  not  in  the  least 
inclined  to  persecute  or  injure  the  former.  Elizabeth 
amused  herself  with  a  number  of  suitors,  but  never 
submitted  to  the  yoke  of  matrimony.  Marguerite, 
in  compliance  with  the  injunctions  of  the  Queen  her 
mother,  and  King  Charles  her  brother,  married  Henri, 


viii  TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 

King  of  Navarre,  afterwards  Henri  IV.  of  France, 
for  whom  she  had  no  inclination ;  and  this  union 
being  followed  by  a  mutual  indifference  and  dislike, 
she  readily  consented  to  dissolve  it ;  soon  after  which 
event  she  saw  a  princess,  more  fruitful  but  less  pru- 
dent, share  the  throne  of  her  ancestors,  of  whom  she 
was  the  only  representative.  Elizabeth  was  polluted 
with  the  blood  of  her  cousin,  the  Queen  of  Scots, 
widow  of  Marguerite's  eldest  brother.  Marguerite 
saved  many  Huguenots  from  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's Day,  and,  according  to  BrantSme,  the  life 
of  the  King,  her  husband,  whose  name  was  on  the 
list  of  the  proscribed.  To  close  this  parallel,  Eliza- 
beth began  early  to  govern  a  kingdom,  which  she 
ruled  through  the  course  of  her  long  life  with  sever- 
ity, yet  gloriously,  and  with  success.  Marguerite,  after 
the  death  of  the  Queen  her  mother  and  her  brothers, 
though  sole  heiress  of  the  House  of  Valois,  was,  by 
the  Salic  law,  excluded  from  all  pretensions  to  the 
Crown  of  France ;  and  though  for  the  greater  part 
of  her  life  shut  up  in  a  castle,  surrounded  by  rocks 
and  mountains,  she  has  not  escaped  the  shafts  of 
obloquy. 

The  Translator  has  added  some  notes,  which  give 
an  account  of  such  places  as  are  mentioned  in  the 
Memoirs,  taken  from  the  itineraries  of  the  time,  but 
principally  from  the  "  Geographic  Universelle "  of 
Vosgien ;  in  which  regard  is  had  to  the  new  division 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE.  ix 

of  France  into  departments,  as  well  as  to  the  ancient 
one  of  principalities,  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  gener- 
alities, ch^tellenies,  balliages,  duchies,  seigniories,  etc. 

In  the  composition  of  her  Memoirs,  Marguerite  has 
evidently  adopted  the  epistolary  form,  though  the 
work  came  out  of  the  French  editor's  hand  divided 
into  three  (as  they  are  styled)  books ;  these  three 
books,  or  letters,  the  Translator  has  taken  the  liberty 
of  subdividing  into  twenty-one,  and,  at  the  head  of 
each  of  them,  he  has  placed  a  short  table  of  the  con- 
tents. This  is  the  only  liberty  he  has  taken  with  the 
original  Memoirs,  the  translation  itself  being  as  near 
as  the  present  improved  state  of  our  language  could 
be  brought  to  approach  the  unpolished  strength  and 
masculine  vigour  of  the  French  of  the  age  of  Henri 
lY. 

This  translation  is  styled  a  new  one,  because,  after 
the  Translator  had  made  some  progress  in  it,  he  found 
these  Memoirs  had  already  been  made  English,  and 
printed,  in  London,  in  the  year  1656,  thirty  years 
after  the  first  edition  of  the  French  original.  This 
translation  has  the  following  title  :  "  The  grand  Cab- 
inet Counsels  unlocked ;  or,  the  most  faithful  Trans- 
action of  Court  Affairs,  and  Growth  and  Continuance 
of  the  Civil  Wars  in  France,  during  the  Reigns  of 
Charles  the  last,  Henry  III.,  and  Henry  IV.,  com- 
monly called  the  Great.  Most  excellently  written, 
in  the  French  Tongue,  by  Margaret  de  Valois,  Sister 


X  TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 

to  the  two  first  Kings,  and  Wife  of  the  last.  Faith- 
fully translated  by  Robert  Codrington,  Master  of 
Arts ; "  and  again  as  "  Memorials  of  Court  Affairs," 
etc.,  London,  1658. 

The  Memoirs  of  Queen  Marguerite  contained  the 
secret  history  of  the  Court  of  France  during  the  space 
of  seventeen  years,  from  1565  to  1582,  and  they  end 
seven  years  before  Henri  III.,  her  brother,  fell  by  the 
hands  of  Clement,  the  monk ;  consequently,  they  take 
in  no  part  of  the  reign  of  Henri  IV.  (as  Mr.  Codring- 
ton has  asserted  in  his  title-page),  though  they  relate 
many  particulars  of  the  early  part  of  his  life. 

Marguerite's  Memoirs  include  likewise  the  history 
nearly  of  the  first  half  of  her  own  life,  or  until  she 
had  reached  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  her  age ;  and  as 
she  died  in  1616,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years,  there 
remain  thirty-four  years  of  her  life,  of  which  little  is 
known.  In  1598,  when  she  was  forty-five  years  old, 
her  marriage  with  Henri  was  dissolved  by  mutual 
consent,  —  she  declaring  that  she  had  no  other  wish 
than  to  give  him  content,  and  preserve  the  peace  of 
the  kingdom ;  making  it  her  request,  according  to 
Brant^me,  that  the  King  would  favour  her  with  his 
protection,  which,  as  her  letter  expresses,  she  hoped 
to  enjoy  during  the  rest  of  her  life.  Sully  says  she 
stipulated  only  for  an  establishment  and  the  payment 
of  her  debts,  which  were  granted.  After  Henri,  in 
1610,  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  furious  fanaticism 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE.  xi 

of  the  monk  Ravaillac,  she  lived  to  see  the  kingdom 
brought  into  the  greatest  confusion  by  the  bad  govern- 
ment of  the  Queen  Regent,  Marie  de'  Medici,  who  suf- 
fered herself  to  be  directed  by  an  Italian  woman  she 
had  brought  over  with  her,  named  Leonora  Galligai. 
Tliis  woman  marrying  a  Florentine,  called  Concini, 
afterwards  made  a  marshal  of  France,  they  jointly 
ruled  the  kingdom,  and  became  so  unpopular  that 
the  marshal  was  assassinated,  and  the  wife,  who  had 
been  qualified  with  the  title  of  Marquise  d'Ancre, 
burnt  for  a  witch.  This  happened  about  the  time 
of  Marguerite's  decease. 

It  has  just  before  been  mentioned  how  little  has 
been  handed  down  to  these  times  respecting  Queen 
Marguerite's  history.  The  latter  part  of  her  life, 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  was  wholly  passed  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  Court,  in  her  retirement  (so 
it  is  called,  though  it  appears  to  have  been  rather  her 
prison)  at  the  castle  of  Usson.  This  castle,  rendered 
famous  by  her  long  residence  in  it,  has  been  demol- 
ished since  the  year  1634.  It  was  built  on  a  moun- 
tain, near  a  little  town  of  the  same  name,  in  that  part 
of  France  called  Auvergne,  which  now  constitutes 
part  of  the  present  Departments  of  the  Upper  Loire 
and  Puy-de-D6me,  from  a  river  and  mountain  so 
named.  These  Memoirs  appear  to  have  been  com- 
posed in  this  retreat.  Marguerite  amused  herself 
likewise,  in  this  solitude,  in  composing  verses,  and 


xii  TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE. 

there  are  specimens  still  remaining  of  her  poetry. 
These  compositions  she  often  set  to  music,  and  sang 
them  herself,  accompanying  her  voice  with  the  lute, 
on  which  she  played  to  perfection.  Great  part  of  her 
time  was  spent  in  the  perusal  of  the  Bible  and  books 
of  piety,  together  with  the  works  of  the  best  authors 
she  could  procure.  BrantSme  assures  us  that  Margue- 
rite spoke  the  Latin  tongue  with  purity  and  elegance ; 
and  it  appears,  from  her  Memoirs,  that  she  had  read 
Plutarch  with  attention. 

Marguerite  has  been  said  to  have  given  in  to  the 
gallantries  to  which  the  Court  of  France  was,  during 
her  time,  but  too  much  addicted ;  but,  though  the 
Translator  is  obliged  to  notice  it,  he  is  far  from 
being  inclined  to  give  any  credit  to  a  romance  en- 
titled, "  Le  Divorce  Satyrique ;  on,  les  Amours  de  la 
Reyne  Marguerite  de  Valois,"  which  is  written  in  the 
person  of  her  husband,  and  bears  on  the  title-page 
these  initials :  D.  R.  H.  Q.  M. ;  that  is  to  say,  "  du 
Roi  Henri  Quatre,  Mari."  This  work  professes  to 
give  a  relation  of  Marguerite's  conduct  during  her 
residence  at  the  castle  of  Usson ;  but  it  contains 
so  many  gross  absurdities  and  indecencies  that  it  is 
undeserving  of  attention,  and  appears  to  have  been 
written  by  some  bitter  enemy,  who  has  assumed  the 
character  of  her  husband  to  traduce  her  memory.^ 

* "  Le  Divorce  Satyrique  "  is  said  to  have  been  -written  by  Louise  Mar- 
guerite de  Lorraine,  Princesse  de  Conti,  who  ia  likewise  the  reputed 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE.  xiii 

M.  Pierre  de  Bourdeille,  Seigneur  de  Brant6me, 
better  known  by  the  name  of  Brantome,  wrote  the 
Memoirs  of  his  own  times.  He  was  brought  up 
in  the  Court  of  France,  and  lived  in  it  during  the 
reigns  of  Marguerite's  father  and  brothers,  dying  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty  or  eighty-four  years,  but 
in  what  year  is  not  certainly  known.  He  has  given 
anecdotes^  of  the  life  of  Marguerite,  written  during 
her  before-mentioned  retreat,  when  she  was,  as  he 
says  ("  fille  unique  maintenant  rest^e,  de  la  noble 
maison  de  France"),  the  only  survivor  of  her  illus- 

author  of  "  The  Amours  of  Henri  IV.,"  disguised  under  the  name  of 
Alcander.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the  Due  de  Guise,  assassinated  at 
Blois  in  1588,  and  was  boru  the  year  her  father  died.  She  married  Fran- 
9ois,  Prince  de  Conti,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
and  accomplished  persons  belonging  to  the  French  Court  in  the  age  of 
Louis  XIII.    She  was  left  a  widow  in  1614,  and  died  in  1631. 

1  The  author  of  the  "  Tablettes  de  France,"  and  "  Anecdotes  des  Rois  de 
France,"  thinks  that  Marguerite  alludes  to  Brantome's  "  Anecdotes  "  in 
the  beginning  of  her  first  letter,  where  she  says :  "  I  should  commend 
your  work  much  more  were  I  myself  not  so  much  praised  in  it."  (Accord- 
ing to  the  original:  "Je  louerois  davantage  votre  oeuvre,  si  elle  ne  me 
louoit  tant.")  If  so,  these  letters  were  addressed  to  Brantome,  and  not 
to  the  Baron  de  la  Chataigneraie,  as  mentioned  in  the  Preface  to  the 
French  edition.  In  Letter  I.  (page  33)  mention  is  made  of  Madame  de 
Dampierre,  whom  Marguerite  styles  the  aunt  of  the  person  the  letter  is 
addressed  to.  She  was  dame  cVhonneur,  or  lady  of  the  bedchamber,  to 
the  Queen  of  Henri  III.,  and  Brantome,  speaking  of  her,  calls  her  his  aunt. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  any  consequence  to  whom  these  Memoirs  were 
addressed ;  it  is,  however,  remarkable  that  Louis  XIV.  used  the  same  words 
to  Boileau,  after  hearing  him  read  his  celebrated  epistle  upon  the  famous 
Passage  of  the  Rhine;  and  yet  Louis  was  no  reader,  and  is  not  supposed 
to  have  adopted  them  from  these  Memoirs.  The  thought  is,  in  reality, 
fine,  but  might  easily  suggest  itself  to  any  other.  "  Cela  est  beau,"  said 
the  monarch,  "  et  je  vous  louerois  davantage,  si  vous  m'aviez  moins  lou^." 
(The  poetry  is  excellent,  and  I  should  praise  you  more  had  you  praised  me 
less.) 


xiv  TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 

trious  house.  Brantome  praises  her  excellent  beauty 
m  a  long  string  of  laboured  hyperboles.  Ronsard, 
the  Court  poet,  has  done  the  same  in  a  poem  of  con- 
siderable length,  wherein  he  has  exhausted  all  his  wit 
and  fancy.  From  what  they  have  said,  we  may  col- 
lect that  Marguerite  was  graceful  in  her  person  and 
figure,  and  remarkably  happy  in  her  choice  of  dress 
and  ornaments  to  set  herself  off  to  the  most  advan- 
tage ;  that  her  height  was  above  the  middle  size,  her 
shape  easy,  with  that  due  proportion  of  plumpness 
which  gives  an  appearance  of  majesty  and  comeliness. 
Her  eyes  were  full,  black,  and  sparkling;  she  had 
bright,  chestnut-coloured  hair,  and  a  complexion  fresh 
and  blooming.  Her  skin  was  delicately  white,  and  her 
neck  admirably  well  formed ;  and  this  so  generally 
admired  beauty,  the  fashion  of  dress,  in  her  time, 
admitted  of  being  fully  displayed. 

Such  was  Queen  Marguerite  as  she  is  portrayed, 
with  the  greatest  luxuriance  of  colouring,  by  these 
authors.  To  her  personal  charms  were  added  readi- 
ness of  wit,  ease  and  gracefulness  of  speech,  and  great 
affability  and  courtesy  of  manners.  This  description 
of  Queen  Marguerite  cannot  be  dismissed  without  ob- 
serving, if  only  for  the  sake  of  keeping  the  fashion  of 
the  present  times  with  her  sex  in  countenance,  that, 
though  she  had  hair,  as  has  been  already  described, 
becoming  her,  and  sufficiently  ornamental  in  itself,  yet 
she  occasionally  called  in  the  aid  of  wigs.    BrantSme's 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE.  xv 

words  are :  "  I'artifice  de  perruques  bien  gentiment 
fa9onnees."  ^ 

I  shall  conclude  this  Preface  with  a  letter  from 
Marguerite  to  BrantSme ;  the  first,  he  says,  he  re- 
ceived from  her  during  her  adversity  (son  adversitS 
are  his  words),  —  being,  as  he  expresses  it,  so  ambi- 
tious (presomptiieux')  as  to  have  sent  to  inquire  con- 
cerning her  health,  as  she  was  the  daughter  and  sister 
of  the  Kings,  his  masters.  ("  D'avoir  envoyd  sgavoir 
de  ses  nouvelles,  mais  quoy  elle  estoit  fille  et  sceur  de 
mes  roys.") 

The  letter  here  follows :  "  Par  la  souvenance  que 
vous  avez  de  moy  (qui  m'a  est^  bien  moins  nouvelle 
qu'agrdable) ,  je  connois  que  vous  avez  bien  conserve 
1' affection  qu'avez  tousjours  cue  a  nostre  maison,  a  ce 
pen  qui  reste  d'un  miserable  naufrage,  qui  en  quelque 
estat  qu'il  puisse  estre,  sera  tousjours  dispose  de  vous 
servir,  me  sentant  bien  heureuse  que  la  fortune  n'ait 
pu  effacer  mon  nom  de  la  memoire  de  mes  plus  an- 
ciens  amis,  comme  vous  estes.     J' ay  sqeu  que,  comme 

1  Ladies  in  the  days  of  Ovid  wore  periwigs.  That  poet  says  to 
Corinna : 

"  Nunc  tibi  captivos  mittet  Germania  crines ; 
Culta  triumphatae  munere  gentis  eris." 

(Wigs  shall  from  captive  Germany  be  sent ; 
'Tis  with  such  spoils  your  head  you  ornament.) 

These,  we  may  conclude,  were  flaxen,  that  being  the  prevailing  coloured 
hair  of  the  Germans  at  this  day.  The  Translator  has  met  with  a  further 
account  of  Marguerite's  head-dress,  which  describes  her  as  wearing  a 
velvet  bonnet  ornamented  with  pearls  and  diamonds,  and  surmounted 
with  a  plume  of  feathers. 


xvi  TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 

moi,  vous  avez  choisi  la  vie  tranquille,  en  la  quelle 
j'estime  heureux  qui  s'y  peut  maintenir,  comme  Dieu 
m'en  a  fait  la  grace  depuis  cinq  ans,  m'ayant  log^e  en 
une  arche  de  salut,  ou  les  orages  de  ces  troubles  ne 
peuvent,  Dieu  mercy,  me  nuire,  a  la  quelle  s'il  me 
reste  quelque  moyen  de  pouvoir  servir  a  mes  amis,  et 
a  Tous  particuli^rement,  vous  m'y  trouverez  entiere- 
ment  dispos^e  et  accompagn^e  d'une  bonne  volonte." 

That  is  to  say :  "  From  the  attention  and  regard  you 
have  shown  me  (which  to  me  appears  less  strange 
than  it  is  agreeable),  I  find  you  still  preserve  that 
attachment  you  have  ever  had  to  my  family,  in  a  rec- 
ollection of  these  poor  remains  which  have  escaped 
its  wreck.  Such  as  I  am,  you  will  find  me  always 
ready  to  do  you  service,  since  I  am  so  happy  as  to 
discover  that  my  fortune  has  not  been  able  to  blot  out 
my  name  from  the  memory  of  my  oldest  friends,  of 
which  number  you  are  one.  I  have  heard  that,  like^ 
me,  you  have  chosen  a  life  of  retirement,  which  I 
esteem  those  happy  who  can  enjoy,  as  God,  out  of 
His  great  mercy,  has  enabled  me  to  do  for  these  last 
five  years ;  having  placed  me,  during  these  times  of 
trouble,  in  an  ark  of  safety,  out  of  the  reach,  God  be 
thanked,  of  storms.  If,  in  my  present  situation,  I  am 
able  to  serve  my  friends,  and  you  more  especially,  I 
shall  be  found  entirely  disposed  to  it,  and  with  the 
greatest  good- will." 

There  is  such  an  air  of  dignified  majesty  in  the 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE.  xvii 

foregoing  letter,  and,  at  the  same  time,  such  a  spirit 
of  genuine  piety  and  resignation,  that  it  cannot  but 
give  an  exalted  idea  of  Marguerite's  character,  who 
appears  superior  to  ill-fortune  and  great  even  in  her 
distress.  If,  as  I  doubt  not,  the  reader  thinks  the 
same,  I  shall  not  need  to  make  an  apology  for  con- 
cluding this  Preface  with  it. 

The  following  Latin  verses,  or  call  them,  if  you 
please,  epigram,  are  of  the  composition  of  Barclay,  or 
Barclaius,  author  of  "  Argenis,"  etc. 

Neither  has  George  Buchanan  been  wanting  in 
paying  Marguerite  the  tribute  of  some  Latin  verses. 
An  epigram  is  to  be  found  amongst  his  Latin  poems. 
See  p.  407,  ed.  London,  1686.  See  likewise  pp.  416 
and  430. 


xviii  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


DE  MARGARETA  VALESIA, 

NAVARRE  REGINA. 

O  patria,  O  arces,  O  dulcia  tecta  parentum, 
Unde  fvus,  unde  pater,  tres  unde  ex  ordine  fratres 
Sceptra  tulere  mei,  mene  O  agnoscitis  arces  ? 
lUa  ego  sum,  cui  vos  cunabula  cara  dedistis, 
Et  patrio  ingentem  cuitu  jactastis  alumnam; 
Stirpe  Deas,  et  fronte  Deas  et  sidera  vultu 
Cum  premerem,  amborum  spes  ambitiosa  procorum. 
Nunc  conjux  vidua,  et  vani  cum  nomine  regni, 
Rupibus  e  nudis,  longique  e  carcerc  montis 
Excedo.     Bed  et  hie  causas  infesta  dolendi 
Disponit  fortuna  mihi,  monstratque  colendam 
Quae  mihi  successit,  quique,  ah,  de  corpore  nostro 
Debuit  esse  pu.r.     Nee  jam  contendere  promptum 
Damnavit  dudum  miseram  fecitque  nocentem 
Cum  tali  certasse  viro.     Jam  credere  divis 
Felicesque  sequi  juvat,  et  subscribere  fate. 
O  dolor !  an  potui  victos  inflectere  vultus 
Despectosque  orasse  viros  ?    Ne  credite,  vivam. 
Jamdudum  perii,  jamdudum  extincta  supersum; 
Et  vivo,  et  morior  toties  ;  me  f  unere  longo 
Nempe  mori  decuit,  quae  tot  per  secula  clamm 
Induce  tumulis  suprema  Valesia  nomen. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


TRANSLATION. 


Tr\fC 


ON  MARGUERITE  DE  VALOIS, 

QUEEN    OF    NAVARRE. 

Deax  native  land  1  and  you,  proud  castles  I  say 

(Where  grandsire,^  fatlier,^  and  three  brothers'  lay, 

Who  each,  in  turn,  the  crown  imperial  wore), 

Me  will  you  own,  your  daughter  whom  you  bore  ? 

Me,  once  your  greatest  boast  and  chiefest  pride, 

By  Bourbon  and  Lorraine,*  when  sought  a  bride ; 

Now  widowed  wif  e,^  a  queen  without  a  throne, 

Midst  rocks  and  mountains®  wander  I  alone. 

Nor  yet  hath  Fortune  vented  all  her  spite. 

But  sets  one  up,'^  who  now  enjoys  my  right, 

Points  to  the  boy,^  who  henceforth  claims  the  throne 

And  crown,  a  son  of  mine  should  call  his  own. 

But  ah,  alas  1  for  me  'tis  now  too  late  ^ 

To  strive  'gainst  Fortune  and  contend  with  Fate ; 

Of  those  I  slighted,  can  I  beg  relief  ?  i** 

No ;  let  me  die  the  victim  of  my  grief. 

And  can  I  then  be  justly  said  to  live  ? 

Dead  in  estate,  do  I  then  yet  survive  ? 

Last  of  the  name,  I  carry  to  the  grave 

All  the  remains  the  House  of  Valois  have. 

»  Fran90is  I.      2  Henri  II.      s  Fran90is  II.,  Charles  IX.,  and  Henri  m. 

*  Henri,  King  of  Navarre,  and  Henri,  Due  de  Guise. 

»  Alluding  to  her  divorce  from  Henri  IV.  *  The  castle  of  Usson. 

'  Marie  de'  Medici,  whom  Henri  married  after  his  divorce  from  Mar- 
guerite.     8  Louis  XIII.,  the  son  of  Henri  and  his  queen,  Marie  de'  Medici. 

9  Alluding  to  the  differences  betwixt  Marguerite  and  Henri,  her  hus- 
band. 

1"  This  is  said  with  allusion  to  the  supposition  that  she  was  rather 
incUned  to  favour  the  suit  of  the  Due  de  Guise  and  reject  Henri  for  a 
husband. 


CONTENTS. 

LETTER   I. 

PAGE 

Introduction. —  Anecdotes    of    Marguerite's    Infancy 

Endeavours  Used  to  Convert  Her  to  the  New  Relig- 
ion. —  She  Is  Confirmed  in  Catholicism.  —  The  Court 
on  a  Progress.  —  A  Grand  Festivity  Suddenly  Inter- 
rupted. —  The  Confusion  in  Consequence     .         .         .27 

LETTER   IL 

Message  from  the  Due  d'Anjou,  Afterwards  Henri  III., 
to  King  Charles  His  Brother  and  the  Queen-mother. 

—  Her  Fondness  for  Her  Children.  —  Their  InterAdew. 

—  Anjou's  Eloquent  Harangue.  —  The  Queen-mother's 
Character.  —  Discourse  of  the  Due  d'Anjou  with  Mar- 
guerite.—  She  Discovers  Her  Own  Importance. — En- 
gages to  Serve  Her  Brother  Anjou.  —  Is  in  High 
Favour  with  the  Queen-mother     .         .         .         .         .37 

LETTER   in. 

Le  Guast His  Character.  —  Anjou  Affects  to  Be  Jeal- 
ous of  the  Guises.  —  Dissuades  the  Queen-mother  from 
Reposing  Confidence  in  Marguerite.  —  She  Loses  the 
Favoui"  of  the  Queen-mother  and  FaUs  Sick.  —  Anjou's 
Hypocrisy.  —  He  Introduces  De  Guise  into  Margue- 
rite's Sick  Chamber Marguerite  Demanded  in  Mar- 
riage by  the  King  of  Portugal.  —  Made  Uneasy  on 
That  Account.  —  Contrives  to  Relieve  Herself.  —  The 
Match  vrith  Portugal  Broken  off 45 

LETTER   IV. 

Death  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre.  —  Marguerite's  Marriage 
with  Her  Son,  the  King  of  Navarre,  Afterwards  Henri 


xxii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

IV.  of  France.  —  The  Preparations  for  That  Solemni- 
sation Described.  —  The  Circumstances  Which  Led  to 
the  Massacre  of  the  Huguenots  on  St.  Bartholomew's 
Day 53 

LETTER   V. 
The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day  .         .         .        .61 

LETTER   VI. 

Henri,  Due  d'Anjou,  Elected  King  of  Poland,  Leaves 
France.  —  Huguenot    Plots    to    Withdraw    the     Due 

d'Alengon  and  the  King  of  Navarre  from  Court 

Discovered  and  Defeated  by  Marguerite's  Vigilance. 

—  She  Dravs  Up  an  Eloquent  Defence,  Which  Her 
Husband  Delivers  before  a  Committee  from  the  Court 
of  Parliament.  —  Alengon  and  Her  Husband,  under  a 
Close  Arrest,  Regain  Their  Liberty  by  the  Death  of 
Charles  IK 67 

LETTER   VIL 

Accession  of  Henri  HI A  Journey  to  Lyons Maj- 

guerite's  Faith  in  Supernatural  Intelligence  .         .     72 

LETTER   VIII. 
What  Happened  at  Lyons 76 

LETTER   IX. 

itesh  Intrigues.  —  Marriage  of  Henri  III.  —  Bussi  Ar- 
rives at  Court  and  Narrowly  Escapes  Assassination     .     84 

LETTER   X. 

Bnssi  Is  Sent  from  Court.  —  Marguerite's  Husband  At- 
tacked with  a  Fit  of  Epilepsy.  —  Her  Great  Care  of 
Him.  —  Torigni  Dismissed  from  Marguerite's  Service. 

—  The  King  of  Navarre  and  the  Due  d'Alengon  Se- 
cretly Leave  the  Court 92 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

PAOK 

LETTER  XI. 

Queen  Marguerite  under  Arrest.  —  Attempt  on  Torigni's 
Life.  — Her  Fortunate  Deliverance       ....  101 

LETTER  Xn. 
The  Peace  of  Sens  betwixt  Henri  HI.  and  the  Huguenots  107 

LETTER   XIIL 

The  League.  —  War  Declared  against  the  Huguenots.  — 
Queen  Marguerite  Sets  out  for  Spa      ....  117 

LETTER  XrV. 

Description  of  Queen  Marguerite's  Equipage.  —  Her  Jour- 
ney to  Liege  Described.  —  She  Enters  with  Success 
upon  Her  Mission.  —  Striking  Instance  of  Maternal 
Duty  and  Affection  in  a  Great  Lady.  —  Disasters  near 
the  Close  of  the  Journey 129 

LETTER  XV. 

The  City  of  Liege  Described.  —  Affecting  Story  of  Made- 
moiselle de  Tournon.  —  Fatal  Effects  of  Suppressed 
Anguish  of  Mind 148 

LETTER  XVI. 

Queen  Marguerite,  on  Her  Return  from  Lifege,  Is  in 
Danger  of  Being  Made  a  Prisoner.  —  She  Arrives,  after 
Some  Narrow  Escapes,  at  La  Fere       .         .         .         .156 

LETTER  XVn. 

Good  Effects  of  Queen  Marguerite's  Negotiations  in  Flan- 
ders  She   Obtains    Leave   to   Go   to   the   King    of 

Navarre  Her  Husband,  but  Her  Journey  Is  Delayed. 
—  Court  Intrigues  and  Plots.  —  The  Due  d'Alengon 
Again  Put  under  Arrest 171 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LETTER  XVm. 

The    Brothers   Reconciled.  —  Alen^on   Restored   to   His 
Liberty 182 


LETTER  XIX. 

The  Due  d'Alengon  Makes   His  Escape  from  Court 

Queen  Marguerite's  Fidelity  Put  to  a  Severe  Trial       .  193 


LETTER  XX. 

Queen  Marguerite  Permitted  to  Go  to  the  King  Her  Hus- 
band  Is  Accompanied  by  the  Queen-mother Mar- 
guerite Insulted  by  Her  Husband's  Secretary.  —  She 
Harboui's  Jealousy.  —  Her  Attention  to  the  King  Her 
Husband  during  an  Indisposition.  —  Their  Reconcil- 
iation  The  War  Breaks  Out  Afresh.  —  Affront  Re- 
ceived from  Mar^chal  de  Biron    .         .         .         .         „  203 


LETTER   XXI. 

Situation  of  Affairs  in  Flanders Peace  Brought  About 

by  Due  d'Alengon's  Negotiation.  —  Mar^chal  de  Biron 
Apologises  for  Firing  on  N^rac.  —  Hem-i  Desperately 
in  Love  with  Fosseuse.  —  Queen  Marguerite  Discovers 
Fosseuse  to  Be  Pregnant,  Which  She  Denies.  —  Fos- 
seuse in  Labour Marguerite's  Generous  Behavioui* 

to  Her.  —  Marguerite's  Return  to  Paris        .         .         .219 

History  of  the  House  of  Valois 233 


HISTORIC  COURT  MEMOIRS. 

MARGUERITE   DE    VALOIS. 


LETTER  I. 

Introduction.  —  Anecdotes  of  Marguerite's  Infancy.  —  En- 
deavours Used  to  Convert  Her  to  the  New  Religion. — 
She    Is    Confirmed    in    Catholicism.  —  The    Court    on    a 

Progress.  —  A    Grand   Festivity  Suddenly   Interrupted 

The  Confusion  in  Consequence. 

I  SHOULD  commend  your  work  much  more  were  I 
myself  less  praised  in  it;  but  I  am  unwilling  to  do 
so,  lest  my  praises  should  seem  rather  the  effect  of 
self-love  than  to  be  founded  on  reason  and  justice.  I 
am  fearful  that,  like  Themistocles,  I  should  appear  to 
admire  their  eloquence  the  most  who  are  most  for- 
ward to  praise  me.  It  is  the  usual  frailty  of  our  sex 
to  be  fond  of  flattery.  I  blame  this  in  other  women, 
and  should  wish  not  to  be  chargeable  with  it  myself. 
Yet  I  confess  that  I  take  a  pride  in  being  painted 
by  the  hand  of  so  able  a  master,  however  flattering 
the  likeness  may  be.     If  I  ever  were  possessed  of  the 


28  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

graces  you  have  assigned  to  me,  trouble  and  vexation 
render  them  no  longer  visible,  and  have  even  effaced 
them  from  my  own  recollection.  So  that  I  view  my- 
self in  your  Memoirs,  and  say,  with  old  Madame  de 
Rendan,  who,  not  having  consulted  her  glass  since 
her  husband's  death,  on  seeing  her  own  face  in  the 
mirror  of  another  lady,  exclaimed,  "  Who  is  this  ? " 
Whatever  my  friends  tell  me  when  they  see  me  now, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  proceeds  from  the  partiality  of 
their  affection.  I  am  sure  that  you  yourself,  when 
you  consider  more  impartially  what  you  have  said, 
will  be  induced  to  believe,  according  to  these  lines 
of  Du  Bellay : 

"  C'est  chercher  Rome  en  Rome, 
Et  rien  de  Rome  en  Rome  ne  trouver." 

('Tis  to  seek  Rome,  in  Rome  to  go. 
And  Rome  herself  at  Rome  not  know.) 

But  as  we  read  with  pleasure  the  history  of  the  Siege 
of  Troy,  the  magnificence  of  Athens,  and  other  splen- 
did cities,  which  once  flourished,  but  are  now  so  en- 
tirely destroyed  that  scarcely  the  spot  whereon  they 
stood  can  be  traced,  so  you  please  yourseK  with  de- 
scribing these  excellences  of  beauty  which  are  no 
more,  and  which  will  be  discoverable  only  in  your 
writings. 

If  you  had  taken  upon  you  to  contrast  Nature  and 
Fortune,  you  could  not  have  chosen  a  happier  theme 


MARGUERITE    DE.  VALOIS.  29 

upon  which  to  descant,  for  both  have  made  a  trial  of 
their  strength  on  the  subject  of  your  Memoirs.  What 
Nature  did,  you  had  the  evidence  of  your  own  eyes  to 
vouch  for,  but  what  was  done  by  Fortune,  you  know 
only  from  hearsay ;  and  hearsay,  I  need  not  tell  you, 
is  liable  to  be  influenced  by  ignorance  or  malice,  and, 
therefore,  is  not  to  be  depended  on.  You  will  for 
that  reason,  I  make  no  doubt,  be  pleased  to  receive 
these  Memoirs  from  the  hand  which  is  most  inter- 
ested in  the  truth  of  them. 

I  have  been  induced  to  undertake  writing  my  Mem- 
oirs the  more  from  five  or  six  observations  which  I 
have  had  occasion  to  make  upon  your  work,  as  you 
appear  to  have  been  misinformed  respecting  certain 
particulars.  For  example,  in  that  part  where  men- 
tion is  made  of  Pan,  and  of  my  journey  in  France ; 
likewise  where  you  speak  of  the  late  Marechal  de 
Biron,  of  Agen,  and  of  the  sally  of  the  Marquis 
de  Camillac  from  that  place. 

These  Memoirs  might  merit  the  honourable  name 
of  history  from  the  truths  contained  in  them,  as  I 
shall  prefer  truth  to  embellishment.  In  fact,  to  em- 
bellish my  story  I  have  neither  leisure  nor  ability ;  I 
shall,  therefore,  do  no  more  than  give  a  simple  nar- 
ration of  events.  They  are  the  labours  of  my  even- 
ings, and  will  come  to  you  an  unformed  mass,  to 
receive  its  shape  from  your  hands,  or  as  a  chaos  on 
which  you  have  already  thrown  light.     Mine  is  a  his- 


80  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

tor  J  most  assuredly  worthy  to  come  from  a  man  of 
honour,  one  who  is  a  true  Frenchman,  born  of  illus- 
trious parents,  brought  up  in  the  Court  of  the  Kings 
my  father  and  brothers,  allied  in  blood  and  friend- 
ship to  the  most  virtuous  and  accomplished  women 
of  our  times,  of  which  society  I  have  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  the  bond  of  union. 

I  shall  begin  these  Memoirs  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
IX.,  and  set  out  with  the  first  remarkable  event  of 
my  life  which  fell  within  my  remembrance.  Herein 
I  follow  the  example  of  geographical  writers,  who, 
having  described  the  places  within  their  knowledge, 
tell  you  that  all  beyond  them  are  sandy  deserts,  coun- 
tries without  inhabitants,  or  seas  never  navigated. 
Thus  I  might  say  that  all  prior  to  the  commencement 
of  these  Memoirs  was  the  barrenness  of  my  infancy, 
when  we  can  only  be  said  to  vegetate  like  plants,  or 
live,  like  brutes,  according  to  instinct,  and  not  as 
human  creatures,  guided  by  reason.  To  those  who 
had  the  direction  of  my  earliest  years  I  leave  the  task 
of  relating  the  transactions  of  my  infancy,  if  they 
find  them  as  worthy  of  being  recorded  as  the  infan- 
tine exploits  of  Themistocles  and  Alexander,  —  the 
one  exposing  himself  to  be  trampled  on  by  the  horses 
of  a  charioteer,  who  would  not  stop  them  when  re- 
quested to  do  so,  and  the  other  refusing  to  run  a  race 
unless  kings  were  to  enter  the  contest  against  him. 
Amongst  such   memorable   thino-s   might  be   related 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  31 

the  answer  I  made  the  King  my  father,  a  short  time 
before  the  fatal  accident  which  deprived  France  of 
peace,  and  our  family  of  its  chief  glory.  I  was  then 
about  fom*  or  five  years  of  age,  when  the  King, 
placing  me  on  his  knee,  entered  familiarly  into  chat 
with  me.  There  were,  in  the  same  room,  playing  and 
diverting  themselves,  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  since 
the  great  and  unfortunate  Due  de  Guise,  and  the 
Marquis  de  Beaupr^au,  son  of  the  Prince  de  la 
Roche -sur- Yon,  who  died  in  his  fourteenth  year, 
and  by  whose  death  his  country  lost  a  youth  of 
most  promising  talents.  Amongst  other  discourse, 
the  King  asked  which  of  the  two  Princes  that  were 
before  me  I  liked  best.  I  replied,  "  The  Marquis." 
The  King  said,  "  Why  so  ?  He  is  not  the  handsom- 
est." The  Prince  de  Joinville  was  fair,  with  light- 
coloured  hair,  and  the  Marquis  de  Beauprdau  brown, 
with  dark  hair.  I  answered,  "  Because  he  is  the 
best  behaved  ;  whilst  the  Prince  is  always  making 
mischief,  and  will  be  master  over  everybody." 

This  was  a  presage  of  what  we  have  seen  happen 
since,  when  the  whole  Court  was  infected  with  heresy, 
about  the  time  of  the  Conference  of  Poissy.  It  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  I  resisted  and  preserved  my- 
self from  a  change  of  religion  at  that  time.  Many 
ladies  and  lords  belonging  to  Court  sti'ove  to  convert 
me  to  Huguenotism.  The  Due  d'Anjou,  since  King 
Henri  III.  of  France,  then  in  his  infancy,  had  been 


32  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

prevailed  on  to  change  his  religion,  and  he  often 
snatched  my  "  Hours "  out  of  mj  hand,  and  flung 
them  into  the  fire,  giving  me  Psalm  Books  and  books 
of  Huguenot  prayers,  insisting  on  my  using  them.  I 
took  the  first  opportunity  to  give  them  up  to  my  gov- 
erness, Madame  de  Curton,  whom  God,  out  of  his 
mercy  to  me,  caused  to  continue  steadfast  in  the  Cath- 
olic religion.  She  frequently  took  me  to  that  pious, 
good  man,  the  Cardinal  de  Tournon,  who  gave  me 
good  advice,  and  strengthened  me  in  a  perseverance 
in  my  religion,  furnishing  me  with  books  and  chaplets 
of  beads  in  the  room  of  those  my  brother  Anjou  took 
from  me  and  burnt. 

Many  of  my  brother's  most  intimate  friends  had 
resolved  on  my  ruin,  and  rated  me  severely  upon  my 
refusal  to  change,  saying  it  proceeded  from  a  childish 
obstinacy ;  that  if  I  had  the  least  understanding,  and 
would  listen,  like  other  discreet  persons,  to  the  ser- 
mons that  were  preached,  I  should  abjure  my  unchar- 
itable bigotry  ;  but  I  was,  said  they,  as  foolish  as  my 
governess.  My  brother  Anjou  added  threats,  and  said 
the  Queen  my  mother  would  give  orders  that  I  should 
be  whipped.  But  this  he  said  of  his  own  head,  for 
the  Queen  my  mother  did  not,  at  that  time,  know 
of  the  errors  he  had  embraced.  As  soon  as  it  came 
to  her  knowledge,  she  took  him  to  task,  and  severely 
reprimanded  his  governors,  insisting  upon  their  cor- 
recting  him,  and   instructing   him  in  the  holy   and 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  33 

ancient  religion  of  his  forefathers,  from  which  she  her- 
self never  swerved.  When  he  used  those  menaces, 
as  I  have  before  related,  I  was  a  child  seven  or  eight 
years  old,  and  at  that  tender  age  would  reply  to  him, 
*'  Well,  get  me  whipped  if  you  can ;  I  will  suffer 
whipping,  and  even  death,  rather  than  be  damned." 

I  could  furnish  you  with  many  other  replies  of  the 
like  kind,  which  gave  proof  of  the  early  ripeness  of 
my  judgment  and  my  courage  ;  but  I  shall  not  trouble 
myself  with  such  researches,  choosing  rather  to  begin 
these  Memoirs  at  the  time  when  I  resided  constantly 
with  the  Queen  my  mother. 

Immediately  after  the  Conference  of  Poissy,  the 
civil  wars  commenced,  and  my  brother  Alengon  and 
myself,  on  account  of  our  youth,  were  sent  to  Amboise, 
whither  all  the  ladies  of  the  country  repaired  to  us. 
With  them  came  your  aunt,  Madame  de  Dampierre, 
who  entered  into  a  firm  friendship  with  me,  which 
was  never  interrupted  until  her  death  broke  it  off. 
There  was  likewise  your  cousin,  the  Duchesse  de  Rais, 
who  had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  there  of  the  death 
of  her  brute  of  a  husband,  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Dreux.  The  husband  I  mean  was  the  first  she  had, 
named  M.  d'Annebaut,  who  was  unworthy  to  have  for 
a  wife  so  accomplished  and  charming  a  woman  as 
your  cousin.  She  and  I  were  not  then  so  intimate 
friends  as  we  have  become  since,  and  shall  ever  re- 
main.    The  reason  was  that,  though  older  than  I,  she 


34  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

was  yet  young,  and  young  girls  seldom  take  much 
notice  of  children,  whereas  your  aunt  was  of  an  age 
when  women  admire  their  innocence  and  engaging 
simplicity. 

I  remained  at  Amboise  until  the  Queen  my  mother 
was  ready  to  set  out  on  her  grand  progress,  at  which 
time  she  sent  for  me  to  come  to  her  Court,  which  I 
did  not  quit  afterwards. 

Of  this  progress  I  will  not  undertake  to  give  you 
a  description,  being  still  so  young  that,  though  the 
whole  is  within  my  recollection,  yet  the  particular 
passages  of  it  appear  to  me  but  as  a  dream,  and  are 
now  lost.  I  leave  this  task  to  others,  of  riper  years, 
as  you  were  yourself.  You  can  well  remember  the 
magnificence  that  was  displayed  everywhere,  particu- 
larly at  the  baptism  of  my  nephew,  the  Due  de  Lor- 
raine, at  Bar-le-Duc  ;  at  the  meeting  of  M.  and  Madamp 
de  Savoy,  in  the  city  of  Lyons ;  the  interview  at 
Bayonne  betwixt  my  sister,  the  Queen  of  Spain,  the 
Queen  my  mother,  and  King  Charles  my  brother.  In 
your  account  of  this  interview  you  would  not  forget 
to  make  mention  of  the  noble  entertainment  given  by 
the  Queen  my  mother,  on  an  island,  with  the  grand 
dances,  and  the  form  of  the  salon,  which  seemed 
appropriated  by  nature  for  such  a  purpose,  it  being  a 
large  meadow  in  the  middle  of  the  island,  in  the  shape 
of  an  oval,  surrounded  on  every  side  by  tall  spreading 
trees.     In  this  meadow  the   Queen  my  mother  had 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  35 

disposed  a  circle  of  niches,  each  of  them  large  enough 
to  contain  a  table  of  twelve  covers.  At  one  end  a 
platform  was  raised,  ascended  by  four  steps  formed  of 
turf.  Here  their  Majesties  were  seated  at  a  table 
under  a  lofty  canopy.  The  tables  were  all  served  by 
troops  of  shepherdesses  dressed  in  cloth  of  gold  and 
satin,  after  the  fashion  of  the  different  provinces  of 
France.  These  shepherdesses,  during  the  passage 
of  the  superb  boats  from  Bayonne  to  the  island,  were 
placed  in  separate  bands,  in  a  meadow  on  each  side 
of  the  causeway,  raised  with  turf ;  and  whilst  their 
Majesties  and  the  company  were  passing  through  the 
great  salon,  they  danced.  On  their  passage  by  water, 
the  barges  were  followed  by  other  boats,  having  on 
board  vocal  and  instrumental  musicians,  habited  like 
Nereids,  singing  and  playing  the  whole  time.  After 
landing,  the  shepherdesses  I  have  mentioned  before 
received  the  company  in  separate  troops,  with  songs 
and  dances,  after  the  fashion  and  accompanied  by 
the  music  of  the  provinces  they  represented,  —  the 
Poitevins  playing  on  bagpipes;  the  Proven^ales  on 
the  viol  and  cymbal ;  the  Burgundians  and  Cham- 
pagners  on  the  hautboy,  bass  viol,  and  tambourine ; 
in  like  manner  the  Bretons  and  other  provincialists. 
After  the  collation  was  served  and  the  feast  at  an 
end,  a  large  troop  of  musicians,  habited  like  satyrs, 
was  seen  to  come  out  of  the  opening  of  a  rock,  well 
lighted  up,  whilst  nymphs  were  descending  from  the 


36  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

top  in  rich  habits,  who,  as  they  came  down,  formed 
into  a  grand  dance,  —  when,  lo !  fortune  no  longer 
favouring  this  brilliant  festival,  a  sudden  storm  of 
rain  came  on,  and  all  were  glad  to  get  off  in  the 
boats  and  make  for  town  as  fast  as  they  could.  The 
confusion  in  consequence  of  this  precipitate  retreat 
afforded^  as  much  matter  to  laugh  at  the  next  day  as 
the  splendour  of  the  entertainment  had  excited  admi- 
ration. In  short,  the  festivity  of  this  day  was  not 
forgotten,  on  one  account  or  the  other,  amidst  the 
variety  of  the  like  nature  which  succeeded  it  in  the 
course  of  this  progress. 


LETTER  II. 

Message  from  the  Due  d'Anjou,  Afterwards  Henri  III.,  to 
King  Charles  His  Brother  and  the  Queen-mother.  —  Her 
Fondness  for  Her  Children.  —  Their  Interview.  —  Anjou's 
Eloquent  Harangue.  —  The  Queen-mother's  Character.  — 
Discourse  of  the  Due  d'Anjou  with  Marguerite.  —  She 
Discovers  Her  Own  Importance.  —  Engages  to  Serve  Her 
Brother  Anjou.  —  Is  in  High  Favour  with  the  Queen- 
mother. 

At  the  time  my  magnanimous  brother  Charles 
reigned  over  France,  and  some  few  years  after  our 
return  from  the  grand  progress  mentioned  in  my  last 
letter,  the  Huguenots  having  renewed  the  war,  a 
gentleman,  despatched  from  my  brother  Anjou  (after- 
wards Henri  III.  of  France),  came  to  Paris  to  inform 
the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother  that  the  Hugue- 
not army  was  reduced  to  such  an  extremity  that  he 
hoped  in  a  few  days  to  force  them  to  give  him  battle. 
He  added  his  earnest  wish  for  the  honour  of  seeing 
them  at  Tours  before  that  happened,  so  that,  in  case 
Fortune,  envying  him  the  glory  he  had  already 
achieved  at  so  early  an  age,  should,  on  the  so  much 
looked-for  day,  after  the  good  service  he  had  done 
his  religion  and  his  King,  crown  the  victory  with  his 
death,  he  might  not  have  cause  to  regret  leaving  this 

37 


38  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

■world  without  the  satisfaction  of  receiving  their  ap- 
probation of  his  conduct  from  their  own  mouths, — 
a  satisfaction  which  would  be  more  valuable,  in  his 
opinion,  than  the  trophies  he  had  gained  by  his  two 
former  victories. 

I  leave  to  your  own  imagination  to  suggest  to  you 
the  impression  which  such  a  message  from  a  dearly 
beloved  son  made  on  the  mind  of  a  mother  who  doted 
on  all  her  children,  and  was  always  ready  to  sacrifice 
her  own  repose,  nay,  even  her  life,  for  their  happiness. 

She  resolved  immediately  to  set  off  and  take  the 
King  with  her.  She  had,  besides  myself,  her  usual 
small  company  of  female  attendants,  together  with 
Mesdames  de  Rais  and  de  Sauves.  She  flew  on  the 
wings  of  maternal  affection,  and  reached  Tours  in 
three  days  and  a  half,  A  journey  from  Paris,  made 
with  such  precipitation,  was  not  unattended  with  acci- 
dents and  some  inconveniences,  of  a  nature  to  occa- 
sion much  mirth  and  laughter.  The  poor  Cardinal  de 
Bourbon,  who  never  quitted  her,  and  whose  temper  of 
mind,  strength  of  body,  and  habits  of  life  were  ill 
suited  to  encounter  privations  and  hardships,  suffered 
greatly  from  this  rapid  journey. 

We  found  my  brother  Anjou  at  Plessis-les-Tours, 
with  the  principal  officers  of  his  army,  who  were  the 
flower  of  the  princes  and  nobles  of  France.  In  their 
presence  he  delivered  a  harangue  to  the  King,  giving 
a  detail  of  his  conduct  in  the  execution  of  his  charge, 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  39 

beginning  from  the  time  he  left  the  Court.  His 
discourse  was  framed  with  so  much  eloquence,  and 
spoken  so  gracefully,  that  it  was  admired  by  all  pres- 
ent. It  appeared  matter  of  astonishment  that  a  youth 
of  sixteen  should  reason  with  all  the  gravity  and  pow- 
ers of  an  orator  of  ripe  years.  The  comeliness  of 
his  person,  which  at  all  times  pleads  powerfully  in 
favour  of  a  speaker,  was  in  him  set  off  by  the  laurels 
obtained  in  two  victories.  In  short,  it  was  difficult  to 
say  which  most  contributed  to  make  him  the  admira- 
tion of  all  his  hearers. 

It  is  equally  as  impossible  for  me  to  describe  in 
words  the  feelings  of  my  mother  on  this  occasion, 
who  loved  him  above  all  her  children,  as  it  was  for 
the  painter  to  represent  on  canvas  the  grief  of 
Iphigenia's  father.  Such  an  overflow  of  joy  would 
have  been  discoverable  in  the  looks  and  actions  of 
any  other  woman,  but  she  had  her  passions  so  much 
under  the  control  of  prudence  and  discretion  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  perceived  in  her  countenance, 
or  gathered  from  her  words,  of  what  she  felt  inwardly 
in  her  mind.  She  was,  indeed,  a  perfect  mistress  of 
herself,  and  regulated  her  discourse  and  her  actions 
by  the  rules  of  wisdom  and  sound  policy,  showing  that 
a  person  of  discretion  does  upon  all  occasions  only 
what  is  proper  to  be  done.  She  did  not  amuse  her- 
self on  this  occasion  with  listening  to  the  praises 
which  issued  from  every  mouth,  and  sanction  them 


40  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

■with  her  own  approbation;  but,  selecting  the  chief 
points  in  the  speech  relative  to  the  future  conduct  of 
the  war,  she  laid  them  before  the  Princes  and  great 
lords,  to  be  deliberated  upon,  in  order  to  settle  a  plan 
of  operations. 

To  arrange  such  a  plan  a  delay  of  some  days  was 
requisite.  During  this  interval,  the  Queen  my  mother 
walking  in  the  park  with  some  of  the  Princes,  my 
brother  Anjou  begged  me  to  take  a  turn  or  two  with 
him  in  a  retired  walk.  He  then  addressed  me  in  the 
following  words  :  "  Dear  sister,  the  nearness  of  blood, 
as  well  as  our  having  been  brought  up  together,  nat- 
urally, as  they  ought,  attach  us  to  each  other.  You 
must  already  have  discovered  the  partiality  I  have 
had  for  you  above  my  brothers,  and  I  think  that  I 
have  perceived  the  same  in  you  for  me.  We  have 
been  hitherto  led  to  this  by  nature,  without  deriving 
any  other  advantage  from  it  than  the  sole  pleasure  of 
conversing  together.  So  far  might  be  well  enough 
for  our  childhood,  but  now  we  are  no  longer  children. 
You  know  the  high  situation  in  which,  by  the  favour 
of  God  and  our  good  mother  the  Queen,  I  am  here 
placed.  You  may  be  assured  that,  as  you  are  the 
person  in  the  world  whom  I  love  and  esteem  the  most, 
you  will  always  be  a  partaker  of  my  advancement. 
I  know  you  are  not  wanting  in  wit  and  discretion, 
and  I  am  sensible  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  do 
me  service  witb  the  Queen  our  mother,  and  preserve 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  41 

me  in  my  present  employments.  It  is  a  great  point 
obtained  for  me,  always  to  stand  well  in  her  favour. 
I  am  fearful  that  my  absence  may  be  prejudicial  to 
that  purpose,  and  I  must  necessarily  be  at  a  distance 
from  Court.  Whilst  I  am  away,  the  King  my  brother 
is  with  her,  and  has  it  in  his  power  to  insinuate  him- 
self into  her  good  graces.  This  I  fear,  in  the  end, 
may  be  of  disservice  to  me.  The  King  my  brother  is 
growing  older  every  day.  He  does  not  want  for  cour- 
age, and,  though  he  now  diverts  himself  with  hunting, 
he  may  grow  ambitious,  and  choose  rather  to  chase 
men  than  beasts ;  in  such  a  case  I  must  resign  to  him 
my  commission  as  his  lieutenant.  This  would  prove 
the  greatest  mortification  that  could  happen  to  me, 
and  I  would  even  prefer  death  to  it.  Under  such  an 
apprehension  I  have  considered  of  the  means  of  pre- 
vention, and  see  none  so  feasible  as  having  a  confi- 
dential person  about  the  Queen  my  mother,  who  shall 
always  be  ready  to  espouse  and  support  my  cause.  I 
know  no  one  so  proper  for  that  purpose  as  yourself, 
who  will  be,  I  doubt  not,  as  attentive  to  my  interest 
as  I  should  be  myself.  You  have  wit,  discretion,  and 
fidelity,  which  are  all  that  are  wanting,  provided  you 
will  be  so  kind  as  to  undertake  such  a  good  office.  In 
that  case  I  shall  have  only  to  beg  of  you  not  to  neg- 
lect attending  her  morning  and  evening,  to  be  the  first 
with  her  and  the  last  to  leave  her.  This  will  induce 
her  to  repose  a  confidence  and  open  her  mind  to  you. 


42  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

To  make  her  the  more  ready  to  do  this,  I  shall  take 
every  opportunity  to  commend  yom-  good  sense  and 
understanding,  and  to  tell  her  that  I  shall  take  it  kind 
in  her  to  leave  off  treating  you  as  a  child,  which,  I 
shall  say,  will  contribute  to  her  own  comfort  and  sat- 
isfaction. I  am  well  convinced  that  she  will  listen  to 
my  advice.  Do  you  speak  to  her  with  the  same  con- 
fidence as  you  do  to  me,  and  be  assured  that  she  will 
approve  of  it.  It  will  conduce  to  your  own  happiness 
to  obtain  her  favour.  You  may  do  yourself  service 
whilst  you  are  labouring  for  my  interest ;  and  you 
may  rest  satisfied  that,  after  God,  I  shall  think  I 
owe  all  the  good  fortune  which  may  befall  me  to 
yourself." 

This  was  entirely  a  new  kind  of  language  to  me. 
I  had  hitherto  thought  of  nothing  but  amusements, 
of  dancing,  hunting,  and  the  like  diversions ;  nay,  I 
had  never  yet  discovered  any  inclination  of  setting 
myself  off  to  advantage  by  dress,  and  exciting  an 
admiration  of  my  person  and  figure.  I  had  no  am- 
bition of  any  kind,  and  had  been  so  strictly  brought 
up  under  the  Queen  my  mother  that  I  scarcely  durst 
speak  before  her ;  and  if  she  chanced  to  turn  her 
eyes  towards  me  I  trembled,  for  fear  that  I  had 
done  something  to  displease  her.  At  the  conclusion 
of  my  brother's  harangue,  I  was  half  inclined  to  reply 
to  him  in  the  words  of  Moses,  when  he  was  spoken  to 
from  the  burning  bush  :  "  Who  am  I,  that  I  should  go 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  43 

unto  Pharaoh  ?  Send,  I  praj  thee,  by  the  hand  of  hun 
whom  thou  wilt  send." 

However,  his  words  inspired  me  with  resolution 
and  powers  I  did  not  think  myself  possessed  of  be- 
fore. I  had  naturally  a  degree  of  courage,  and,  as 
soon  as  I  recovered  from  my  astonishment,  I  found 
I  was  quite  an  altered  person.  His  address  pleased 
me,  and  wrought  in  me  a  confidence  in  myself ;  and 
I  found  I  was  become  of  more  consequence  than  I 
had  ever  conceived  I  had  been.  Accordingly,  I  re- 
plied to  him  thus :  "  Brother,  if  God  grant  me  the 
power  of  speaking  to  the  Queen  our  mother  as  I  have 
the  will  to  do,  nothing  can  be  wanting  for  your  ser- 
vice, and  you  may  expect  to  derive  all  the  good  you 
hope  from  it,  and  from  my  solicitude  and  attention 
for  your  interest.  With  respect  to  my  undertaking 
such  a  matter  for  you,  you  will  soon  perceive  that 
I  shall  sacrifice  all  the  pleasures  in  this  world  to 
my  watchfulness  for  your  service.  You  may  per- 
fectly rely  on  me,  as  there  is  no  one  that  honours 
or  regards  you  more  than  I  do.  Be  well  assured 
that  I  shall  act  for  you  with  the  Queen  my  mother 
as  zealously  as  you  would  for  yourself." 

These  sentiments  were  more  strongly  impressed 
upon  my  mind  than  the  words  I  made  use  of  were 
capable  of  conveying  an  idea  of.  This  will  appear 
more  fully  in  my  following  letters. 

As  soon  as  we  were  returned  from  walking,  the 


44  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Queen  my  mother  retired  with  me  into  her  closet, 
and  addressed  the  following  words  to  me :  "  Your 
brother  has  been  relating  the  conversation  you  have 
had  together ;  he  considers  you  no  longer  as  a  child, 
neither  shall  I.  It  will  be  a  great  comfort  to  me  to 
converse  with  you  as  I  would  with  your  brother.  For 
the  future  you  will  freely  speak  your  mind,  and  have 
no  apprehensions  of  taking  too  great  a  liberty,  for  it 
is  what  I  wish."  These  words  gave  me  a  pleasure 
then  which  I  am  now  unable  to  express.  I  felt  a 
satisfaction  and  a  joy  which  nothing  before  had  ever 
caused  me  to  feel.  I  now  considered  the  pastimes  of 
my  childhood  as  vain  amusements.  I  shunned  the 
society  of  my  former  companions  of  the  same  age.  I 
disliked  dancing  and  hunting,  which  I  thought  beneath 
my  attention.  I  strictly  complied  with  her  agreeable 
injunction,  and  never  missed  being  with  her  at  her 
rising  in  the  morning  and  going  to  rest  at  night. 
She  did  me  the  honour,  sometimes,  to  hold  me  in  con- 
versation for  two  and  three  hours  at  a  time.  God 
was  so  gracious  with  me  that  I  gave  her  great  satis- 
faction ;  and  she  thought  she  could  not  sufficiently 
praise  me  to  those  ladies  who  were  about  her.  I 
spoke  of  my  brother's  affairs  to  her,  and  he  was 
constantly  apprised  by  me  of  her  sentiments  and 
opinion;  so  that  he  had  every  reason  to  suppose  I 
was  firmly  attached  to  his  interest. 


LETTER  III. 

Le  Guast His  Character Anjou  Affects  to  Be  Jealous  of 

the  Guises.  —  Dissuades  the  Queen-mother  from  Reposing 
Confidence  in  Marguerite.  —  She  Loses  the  Favour  of  the 

Queen-mother  and  Falls  Sick.  —  Anjou's  Hypocrisy He 

Introduces  De  Guise  into  Marguerite's    Sick  Chamber 

Marguerite  Demanded  in  Marriage  by  the  King  of  Portu- 
gal  Made  Uneasy  on  That  Account Contrives  to  Re- 
lieve Herself.  —  The  Match  with  Portugal  Broken  off. 

I  CONTINUED  to  pass  mj  time  with  the  Queen  my 
mother,  greatly  to  my  satisfaction,  until  after  the 
battle  of  Moncontour.  By  the  same  despatch  that 
brought  the  news  of  this  victory  to  the  Court,  my 
brother,  who  was  ever  desirous  to  be  near  the  Queen 
my  mother,  wrote  her  word  that  he  was  about  to  lay 
siege  to  St.  Jean  d'Angely,  and  that  it  would  be 
necessary  that  the  King  should  be  present  whilst  it 
was  going  on.  She,  more  anxious  to  see  him  than  he 
could  be  to  have  her  near  him,  hastened  to  set  out  on 
the  journey,  taking  me  with  her,  and  her  customary 
train  of  attendants.  I  likewise  experienced  great  joy 
upon  the  occasion,  having  no  suspicion  that  any  mis- 
chief awaited  me.  I  was  still  young  and  without  ex- 
perience, and  I  thought  the  happiness  I  enjoyed  was 


46  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

always  to  continue  ;  but  the  malice  of  Fortune  pre- 
pared for  me  at  this  interview  a  reverse  that  I  little 
expected,  after  the  fidelity  with  which  I  had  dis- 
charged the  trust  my  brother  had  reposed  in  me. 

Soon  after  our  last  meeting,  it  seems,  my  brother 
Anjou  had  taken  Le  Guast  to  be  near  his  person,  who 
had  ingratiated  himself  so  far  into  his  favour  and  con- 
fidence that  he  saw  only  with  his  eyes,  and  spoke  but 
as  he  dictated.  This  evil-disposed  man,  whose  whole 
life  was  one  continued  scene  of  wickedness,  had  per- 
verted his  mind  and  filled  it  with  maxims  of  the  most 
atrocious  nature.  He  advised  him  to  have  no  regard 
but  for  his  own  interest ;  neither  to  love  nor  put  trust 
in  any  one ;  and  not  to  promote  the  views  or  advan- 
tage of  either  brother  or  sister.  These  and  other 
maxims  of  the  like  nature,  drawn  from  the  school  of 
Machiavelli,  he  was  continually  suggesting  to  him. 
He  had  so  frequently  inculcated  them  that  they  were 
strongly  impressed  on  his  mind,  insomuch  that,  upon 
our  arrival,  when,  after  the  first  compliments,  my 
mother  began  to  open  in  my  praise  and  express  the 
attachment  I  had  discovered  for  him,  this  was  his 
reply,  which  he  delivered  with  the  utmost  coldness : 
"  He  was  well  pleased,"  he  said,  "  to  have  succeeded 
in  the  request  he  had  made  to  me ;  but  that  prudence 
directed  us  not  to  continue  to  make  use  of  the  same 
expedients,  for  what  was  profitable  at  one  time  might 
not  be  so  at  another."     She  asked  him  why  he  made 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  47 

that  observation.  This  question  afforded  the  oppor- 
tunity he  wished  for,  of  relating  a  story  he  had  fab- 
ricated, purposely  to  ruin  me  with  her. 

He  began  with  observing  to  her  that  I  was  grown 
very  handsome,  and  that  M.  de  Guise  wished  to  marry 
me ;  that  his  uncles,  too,  were  very  desirous  of  such  a 
match  ;  and,  if  I  should  entertain  a  like  passion  for 
him,  there  would  be  danger  of  my  discovering  to  him 
all  she  said  to  me  ;  that  she  well  knew  the  ambition 
of  that  house,  and  how  ready  they  were,  on  all  occa- 
sions, to  circumvent  ours.  It  would,  therefore,  be 
proper  that  she  should  not,  for  the  future,  communi- 
cate any  matter  of  State  to  me,  but,  by  degrees, 
withdraw  her  confidence. 

I  discovered  the  evil  effects  proceeding  from  this 
pernicious  advice  on  the  very  same  evening.  I  re- 
marked an  unwillingness  on  her  part  to  speak  to  me 
before  my  brother ;  and,  as  soon  as  she  entered  into 
discourse  with  him,  she  commanded  me  to  go  to  bed. 
This  command  she  repeated  two  or  three  times.  I 
quitted  her  closet,  and  left  them  together  in  conversa- 
tion ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  was  gone,  I  returned  and  en- 
treated her  to  let  me  know  if  I  had  been  so  unhappy 
as  to  have  done  anything,  through  ignorance,  which 
had  given  her  offence.  She  was  at  first  inclined  to 
dissemble  with  me  ;  but  at  length  she  said  to  me 
thus :  "  Daughter,  your  brother  is  prudent  and  cau- 
tious; you  ought  not  to  be  displeased  with  him  for 


48  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

\»* 

what  he  does,  and  you  must  believe  what  I  shall  tell 
you  is  right  and  proper."  She  then  related  the  con- 
versation she  had  with  my  brother,  as  I  have  just 
written  it ;  and  she  then  ordered  me  never  to  speak 
to  her  in  my  brother's  presence. 

These  words  were  like  so  many  daggers  plunged 
into  my  breast.  In  my  disgrace,  I  experienced  as 
much  grief  as  I  had  before  joy  on  being  received 
into  her  favour  and  confidence.  I  did  not  omit  to 
say  everything  to  convince  her  of  my  entire  ignorance 
of  what  my  brother  had  told  her.  I  said  it  was  a 
matter  I  had  never  heard  mentioned  before ;  and 
that,  had  I  known  it,  I  should  certainly  have  made 
her  immediately  acquainted  with  it.  All  I  said  was 
to  no  purpose ;  my  brother's  words  had  made  the 
first  impression ;  they  were  constantly  present  in  her 
mind,  and  outweighed  probability  and  truth.  When 
I  discovered  this,  I  told  her  that  I  felt  less  uneasiness 
at  being  deprived  of  my  happiness  than  I  did  joy  when 
I  had  acquired  it ;  for  my  brother  had  taken  it  from 
me,  as  he  had  given  it.  He  had  given  it  without 
reason ;  he  had  taken  it  away  without  cause.  He 
had  praised  me  for  discretion  and  prudence  when  I 
did  not  merit  it,  and  he  suspected  my  fidelity  on 
grounds  wholly  imaginary  and  fictitious.  I  con- 
cluded with  assuring  her  that  I  should  never  forget 
my  brother's  behaviour  on  this  occasion. 

Hereupon  she  flew  into  a  passion  and  commanded 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  49 

me  not  to  make  the  least  show  of  resentment  at  his 
behaviour.  From  that  hour  she  gradually  withdrew 
her  favour  from  me.  Her  son  became  the  god  of  her 
idolatry,  at  the  shrine  of  whose  will  she  sacrificed 
everything. 

The  grief  which  I  inwardly  felt  was  very  great  and 
overpowered  all  my  faculties,  until  it  wrought  so  far 
on  my  constitution  as  to  contribute  to  my  receiving 
the  infection  which  then  prevailed  in  the  army.  A 
few  days  after  I  fell  sick  of  a  raging  fever,  attended 
with  purple  spots,  a  malady  which  carried  off  num- 
bers, and,  amongst  the  rest,  the  two  principal  physi- 
cians belonging  to  the  King  and  Queen,  Chappelain 
and  Castelan.  Indeed,  few  got  over  the  disorder 
after  being  attacked  with  it. 

In  this  extremity  the  Queen  my  mother,  who  partly 
gTiessed  the  cause  of  my  illness,  omitted  nothing  that 
might  serve  to  remove  it ;  and,  without  fear  of  conse- 
quences, visited  me  frequently.  Her  goodness  con- 
tributed much  to  my  recovery;  but  my  brother's 
hypocrisy  was  sufficient  to  destroy  all  the  benefit  I 
received  from  her  attention,  after  having  been  guilty 
of  so  treacherous  a  proceeding.  After  he  had  proved 
so  ungrateful  to  me,  he  came  and  sat  at  the  foot  of 
my  bed  from  morning  to  night,  and  appeared  as 
anxiously  attentive  as  if  we  had  been  the  most  per- 
fect friends.  My  mouth  was  shut  up  by  the  com- 
mand I  had  received  from  the  Queen  our  mother,  so 


60  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

that  I  only  answered  his  dissembled  concern  with 
sighs,  like  Burrus  in  the  presence  of  Nero,  when  he 
was  dying  by  the  poison  administered  by  the  hands 
of  that  tyrant.  The  sighs,  however,  which  I  vented 
in  my  brother's  presence,  might  convince  him  that  I 
attributed  my  sickness  rather  to  his  ill  oflSces  than  to 
the  prevailing  contagion. 

God  had  mercy  on  me,  and  supported  me  through 
this  dangerous  illness.  After  I  had  kept  my  bed  a 
fortnight,  the  army  changed  its  quarters,  and  I  was 
conveyed  away  with  it  in  a  litter.  At  the  end  of  each 
day's  march,  I  found  King  Charles  at  the  door  of  my 
quarters,  ready,  with  the  rest  of  the  good  gentlemen 
belonging  to  the  Court,  to  carry  my  litter  up  to  my 
bedside.  In  this  manner  T  came  to  Angers  from  St. 
Jean  d'Angely,  sick  in  body,  but  more  sick  in  mind. 
Here,  to  my  misfortune,  M.  de  Guise  and  his  uncles 
had  arrived  before  me.  This  was  a  circumstance 
which  gave  my  good  brother  great  pleasure,  as  it 
afforded  a  colourable  appearance  to  his  story.  I 
soon  discovered  the  advantage  my  brother  would 
make  of  it  to  increase  my  already  too  great  mortifi- 
cation; for  he  came  daily  to  see  me,  and  as  con- 
stantly brought  M.  de  Guise  into  my  chamber  with 
him.  He  pretended  the  sincerest  regard  for  De 
Guise,  and,  to  make  him  believe  it,  would  take  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  embracing  him,  crying  out 
at   the    same   time,   "  Would  to   God  you  were  my 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  51 

brother !  "  This  he  often  put  in  practice  before  me, 
which  M.  de  Guise  seemed  not  to  comprehend ;  but  I, 
who  knew  his  malicious  designs,  lost  all  patience,  yet 
did  not  dare  to  reproach  him  with  his  hypocrisy. 

As  soon  as  I  was  recovered,  a  treaty  was  set  on 
foot  for  a  marriage  betwixt  the  King  of  Portugal  and 
me,  an  ambassador  having  been  sent  for  that  purpose. 
The  Queen  my  mother  commanded  me  to  prepare 
to  give  the  ambassador  an  audience ;  which  I  did 
accordingly.  My  brother  had  made  her  believe  that 
I  was  averse  to  this  marriage ;  accordingly,  she  took 
me  to  task  upon  it,  and  questioned  me  on  the  subject, 
expecting  she  should  find  some  cause  to  be  angry 
with  me.  I  told  her  my  will  had  always  been  guided 
by  her  own,  and  that  whatever  she  thought  right  for 
me  to  do,  I  should  do  it.  She  answered  me,  angrily, 
according  as  she  had  been  wrought  upon,  that  I  did 
not  speak  the  sentiments  of  my  heart,  for  she  well 
knew  that  the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine  had  persuaded 
me  into  a  promise  of  having  his  nephew.  I  begged 
her  to  forward  this  match  with  the  King  of  Portugal, 
and  I  would  convince  her  of  my  obedience  to  her 
commands.  Every  day  some  new  matter  was  re- 
ported to  incense  her  against  me.  All  these  were 
machinations  worked  up  by  the  mind  of  Le  Guast. 
In  short,  I  was  constantly  receiving  some  fresh  mor- 
tification, so  that  I  hardly  passed  a  day  in  quiet.  On 
one  side,  the  King  of  Spain  was  using  his  utmost 


62  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

endeavours  to  break  off  the  match  with  Portugal, 
and  M.  de  Guise,  continuing  at  Court,  furnished 
grounds  for  persecuting  me  on  the  other.  Still,  not 
a  single  person  of  the  Guises  ever  mentioned  a  word 
to  me  on  the  subject;  and  it  was  well  known  that, 
for  ^ore  than  a  twelvemonth,  M.  de  Guise  had  been 
paying  his  addresses  to  the  Princesse  de  Porcian ; 
but  the  slow  progress  made  in  bringing  this  match 
to  a  conclusion  was  said  to  be  owing  to  his  designs 
upon  me. 

As  soon  as  I  made  this  discovery  I  resolved  to 
write  to  my  sister,  Madame  de  Lorraine,  who  had 
a  great  influence  in  the  House  of  Porcian,  begging 
hereto  use  her  endeavours  to  withdraw  M.  de  Guise 
from  Court,  and  make  him  conclude  his  match  with 
the  Princess,  laying  open  to  her  the  plot  which  had 
heen  concerted  to  ruin  the  Guises  and  me.  She 
readily  saw  through  it,  came  immediately  to  Court, 
and  concluded  the  match,  which  delivered  me  from 
the  aspersions  cast  on  my  character,  and  convinced  the 
Queen  my  mother  that  what  I  had  told  her  was 
the  real  truth.  This  at  the  same  time  stopped  the 
mouths  of  my  enemies  and  gave  me  some  repose. 

At  length  the  King  of  Spain,  unwilling  that  the 
King  of  Portugal  should  marry  out  of  his  family, 
broke  off  the  treaty  which  had  been  entered  upon  for 
my  marriage  with  him. 


LETTER   lY. 

Death  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre.  —  Marguerite's  Marriage 
with  Her  Son,  the  King  of  Navarre,  Afterwards  Henri  IV. 
of  France.  —  The  Preparations  for  That  Solemnisation 
Described.  —  Tlie  Circumstances  Which  Led  to  the  Mas- 
sacre of  the  Huguenots  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day. 

Some  short  time  after  this  a  marriage  was  projected 
betwixt  the  Prince  of  Navarre,  now  our  renowned 
King  Henri  IV.,  and  me. 

The  Queen  my  mother,  as  she  sat  at  table,  dis- 
coursed for  a  long  time  upon  the  subject  with  M.  de 
Meru,  the  House  of  Montmorency  having  first  proposed 
the  match.  After  the  Queen  had  risen  from  table, 
he  told  me  she  had  commanded  him  to  mention  it 
to  me.  I  replied  that  it  was  quite  unnecessary,  as  I 
had  no  will  but  her  own ;  however,  I  should  wish  she 
would  be  pleased  to  remember  that  I  was  a  Catholic, 
and  that  I  should  dislike  to  marry  any  one  of  a  con- 
trary persuasion. 

Soon  after  this  the  Queen  sent  for  me  to  attend 
her  in  her  closet.  She  there  informed  me  that  the 
Montmorencys  had  proposed  this  match  to  her,  and 
that  she  was  desirous  to  learn  my  sentiments  upon  it. 

53 


54  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

I  answered  that  my  choice  was  governed  by  her 
pleasure,  and  that  I  only  begged  her  not  to  forget 
that  I  was  a  good  Catholic. 

This  treaty  was  in  negotiation  for  some  time  after 
this  conversation,  and  was  not  finally  settled  until 
the  arrival  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre,  his  mother,  at 
Court,  where  she  died  soon  after. 

Whilst  the  Queen  of  Navarre  lay  on  her  death-bed, 
a  circumstance  happened  of  so  whimsical  a  nature 
that,  though  not  of  consequence  to  merit  a  place 
in  the  history,  it  may  very  well  deserve  to  be  related 
by  me  to  you.  Madame  de  Nevers,  whose  oddities 
you  well  know,  attended  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon, 
Madame  de  Guise,  the  Princesse  de  Conde,  her  sisters, 
and  myself  to  the  late  Queen  of  Navarre's  apart- 
ments, whither  we  all  went  to  pay  those  last  duties 
which  her  rank  and  our  nearness  of  blood  demanded 
of  us.  We  found  the  Queen  in  bed  with  her  curtains 
undrawn,  the  chamber  not  disposed  with  the  pomp 
and  ceremonies  of  our  religion,  but  after  the  simple 
manner  of  the  Huguenots ;  that  is  to  say,  there  were 
no  priests,  no  cross,  nor  any  holy  water.  We  kept 
ourselves  at  some  distance  from  the  bed,  but  Madame 
de  Nevers,  whom  you  know  the  Queen  hated  more 
than  any  woman  besides,  and  which  she  had  shown 
both  in  speech  and  by  actions,  —  Madame  de  Nevers, 
I  say,  approached  the  bedside,  and,  to  the  great 
astonishment  of  all  present,  who  well  knew  the  en- 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  55 

mitj  subsisting  betwixt  them,  took  the  Queen's  hand^ 
with  many  low  curtseys,  and  kissed  it ;  after  which, 
making  another  curtsey  to  the  very  ground,  she 
retired  and  rejoined  us. 

A  few  months  after  the  Queen's  death,  the  Prince 
of  Navarre,  or  rather,  as  he  was  then  styled,  the  King, 
came  to  Paris  in  deep  mourning,  attended  by  eight 
hundred  gentlemen,  all  in  mourning  habits.  He  was 
received  with  every  honour  by  King  Charles  and  the 
whole  Court,  and,  in  a  few  days  after  his  arrival,  our 
marriage  was  solemnised  with  all  possible  magnifi- 
cence ;  the  King  of  Navarre  and  his  retinue  putting 
off  their  mourning  and  dressing  themselves  in  the 
most  costly  manner.  The  whole  Court,  too,  was 
richly  attired ;  all  which  you  can  better  conceive 
than  I  am  able  to  express.  For  my  own  part,  I  was 
set  out  in  a  most  royal  manner ;  I  wore  a  crown  on 
my  head  with  the  coet^  or  regal  close  gown  of  ermine, 
and  I  blazed  in  diamonds.  My  blue-coloured  robe 
had  a  train  to  it  of  four  ells  in  length,  which  was  sup- 
ported by  three  princesses.  A  platform  had  been 
raised,  some  height  from  the  ground,  which  led  from 
the  Bishop's  palace  to  the  Church  of  Notre-Dame.  It 
was  hung  with  cloth  of  gold ;  and  below  it  stood  the 
people  in  throngs  to  view  the  procession,  stifling  with 
heat.  We  were  received  at  the  church  door  by  the 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  who  officiated  for  that  day,  and 
pronounced  the  nuptial  benediction.     After  this  we 


66  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

proceeded  on  the  same  platform  to  the  tribune  which 
separates  the  nave  from  the  choir,  where  was  a 
double  staircase,  one  leading  into  the  choir,  the  other 
through  the  nave  to  the  church  door.  The  King  of 
Navarre  passed  by  the  latter  and  went  out  of  church. 

But  fortune,  which  is  ever  changing,  did  not  fail 
soon  to  disturb  the  felicity  of  this  union.  This  was 
occasioned  by  the  wound  received  by  the  Admiral, 
which  had  wrought  the  Huguenots  up  to  a  degree  of 
desperation.  The  Queen  my  mother  was  reproached 
on  that  account  in  such  terms  by  the  elder  Pardaillan 
and  some  other  principal  Huguenots,  that  she  began 
to  apprehend  some  evil  design.  M.  de  Guise  and 
my  brother  the  King  of  Poland,  since  Henri  III.  of 
France,  gave  it  as  their  advice  to  be  beforehand 
with  the  Huguenots.  King  Charles  was  of  a  contrary 
opinion.  He  had  a  great  esteem  for  M.  de  La  Roche- 
foucauld, Teligny,  La  None,  and  some  other  leading 
men  of  the  same  religion ;  and,  as  I  have  since  heard 
him  say,  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  he  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  give  his  consent,  and  not  before 
he  had  been  made  to  understand  that  his  own  life  and 
the  safety  of  his  kingdom  depended  upon  it. 

The  King  having  learned  that  Maurevel  had  made 
an  attempt  upon  the  Admiral's  life,  by  firing  a  pistol 
at  him  through  a  window,  —  in  which  attempt  he 
failed,  having  wounded  the  Admiral  only  in  the  shoul- 
der, —  and  supposing  that  Maurevel  had  done  this  at 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  57 

the  instance  of  M.  de  Guise,  to  revenge  the  death  of 
his  father,  whom  the  Admiral  had  caused  to  be  killed 
in  the  same  manner  by  Poltrot,  he  was  so  much  in- 
censed against  M.  de  Guise  that  he  declared  with  an 
oath  that  he  would  make  an  example  of  him ;  and, 
indeed,  the  King  would  have  put  M.  de  Guise  under 
an  arrest,  if  he  had  not  kept  out  of  his  sight  the 
whole  day.  The  Queen  my  mother  used  every  argu- 
ment to  convince  King  Charles  that  what  had  been 
done  was  for  the  good  of  the  State ;  and  this  be- 
cause, as  I  observed  before,  the  King  had  so  great  a 
regard  for  the  Admiral,  La  None,  and  Teligny,  on 
accoimt  of  their  bravery,  being  himself  a  prince  of  a 
gallant  and  noble  spirit,  and  esteeming  others  in 
whom  he  found  a  similar  disposition.  Moreover, 
these  designing  men  had  insinuated  themselves  into 
the  King's  favour  by  proposing  an  expedition  to  Flan- 
ders, with  a  yIgw  of  extending  his  dominions  and 
aggrandising  his  power,  propositions  which  they  well 
knew  would  secure  to  themselves  an  influence  over 
his  royal  and  generous  mind. 

Upon  this  occasion,  the  Queen  my  mother  repre- 
sented to  the  King  that  the  attempt  of  M.  de  Guise 
upon  the  Admiral's  life  was  excusable  in  a  son  who, 
being  denied  justice,  had  no  other  means  of  avenging' 
his  father's  death.  Moreover,  the  Admiral,  she  said, 
had  deprived  her  by  assassination,  during  his  minority 
and  her  regency,  of  a  faithful  servant  in  the  person  of 


58  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Charri,  commander  of  the  King's  body-guard,  which 
rendered  him  deserving  of  the  like  treatment. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  Queen  my  mother  spoke 
thus  to  the  King,  discovering  by  her  expressions  and 
in  her  looks  all  the  grief  which  she  inwardly  felt  on 
the  recollection  of  the  loss  of  persons  who  had  been 
useful  to  her ;  yet,  so  much  was  King  Charles  inclined 
to  save  those  who,  as  he  thought,  would  one  day  be 
serviceable  to  him,  that  he  still  persisted  in  his  deter- 
mination to  punish  M.  de  Guise,  for  whom  he  ordered 
strict  search  to  be  made. 

At  length  Pardaillan,  disclosing  by  his  menaces, 
during  the  supper  of  the  Queen  my  mother,  the  evil 
intentions  of  the  Huguenots,  she  plainly  perceived  that 
things  were  brought  to  so  near  a  crisis,  that,  unless 
steps  were  taken  that  very  night  to  prevent  it,  the 
King  and  herself  were  in  danger  of  being  assassinated. 
She,  therefore,  came  to  the  resolution  of  declaring  to 
King  Charles  his  real  situation.  For  this  purpose  she 
thought  of  the  Marechal  de  Rais  as  the  most  proper 
person  to  break  the  matter  to  the  King,  the  Marshal 
being  greatly  in  his  favour  and  confidence. 

Accordingly,  the  Marshal  went  to  the  King  in  his 
closet,  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten,  and  told 
him  he  was  come  as  a  faithful  servant  to  discharge 
his  duty,  and  lay  before  him  ,the  danger  in  which 
he  stood,  if  he  persisted  in  his  resolution  of  punishing 
M.  de  Guise,  as  he  ought  now  to  be  informed  that  the 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  59 

attempt  made  upon  the  Admiral's  life  was  not  set  on 
foot  by  him  alone,  but  that  his  (the  King's)  brother 
the  King  of  Poland,  and  the  Queen  his  mother,  had 
their  shares  in  it ;  that  he  must  be  sensible  how  much 
the  Queen  lamented  Gharri's  assassination,  for  which 
she  had  great  reason,  having  very  few  servants  about 
her  upon  whom  she  could  rely,  and  as  it  happened 
during  the  King's  minority,  —  at  the  time,  moreover, 
when  France  was  divided  between  the  Catholics  and 
the  Huguenots,  M.  de  Guise  being  at  the  head  of  the 
former,  and  the  Prince  de  Gonde  of  the  latter,  both 
alike  striving  to  deprive  him  of  his  crown ;  that 
through  Providence,  both  his  crown  and  kingdom  had 
been  preserved  by  the  prudence  and  good  conduct  of 
the  Queen  Regent,  who  in  this  extremity  found  herself 
powerfully  aided  by  the  said  Gharri,  for  which  reason 
she  had  vowed  to  avenge  his  death ;  that,  as  to  the 
Admiral,  he  must  be  ever  considered  as  dangerous  to 
the  State,  and  whatever  show  he  might  make  of  affec- 
tion for  his  Majesty's  person,  and  zeal  for  his  service 
in  Flanders,  they  must  be  considered  as  mere  pre- 
tences, which  he  used  to  cover  his  real  design  of 
reducing  the  kingdom  to  a  state  of  confusion. 

The  Marshal  concluded  with  observing  that  the  orig- 
inal intention  had  been  to  make  away  with  the  Admiral 
only,  as  the  most  obnoxious  man  in  the  kingdom  ;  but 
Maurevel  having  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  fail  in  his 
attempt,  and  the  Huguenots  becoming  desperate  enough 


60  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

to  resolve  to  take  up  arms,  with  design  to  attack,  not 
only  M.  de  Guise,  but  the  Queen  his  mother,  and 
his  brother  the  King  of  Poland,  supposing  them,  as 
well  as  his  Majesty,  to  have  commanded  Maurevel  to 
make  his  attempt,  he  saw  nothing  but  cause  of  alarm 
for  his  Majesty's  safety, —  as  well  on  the  part  of  the 
Catholics,  if  he  persisted  in  his  resolution  to  punish 
M.  de  Guise,  as  of  the  Huguenots,  for  the  reasons 
which  he  had  just  laid  before  him. 


LETTER   Y. 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day. 

King  Charles,  a  prince  of  great  prudence,  always 
paying  a  particular  deference  to  his  mother,  and  being 
much  attached  to  the  Catholic  religion,  now  convinced 
of  the  intentions  of  the  Huguenots,  adopted  a  sudden 
resolution  of  following  his  mother's  counsel,  and  put- 
ting himself  under  the  safeguard  of  the  Catholics.  It 
was  not,  however,  without  extreme  regret  that  he 
found  he  had  it  not  in  his  power  to  save  Teligny,  La 
Noue,  and  M.  de  La  Rochefoucauld. 

He  went  to  the  apartments  of  the  Queen  his  mother, 
and  sending  for  M.  de  Guise  and  all  the  Princes  and 
Catholic  officers,  the  "  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  " 
was  that  night  resolved  upon. 

Immediately  every  hand  was  at  work  ;  chains  were 
drawn  across  the  streets,  the  alarm-bells  were  sounded, 
and  every  man  repaired  to  his  post,  according  to  the 
orders  he  had  received,  whether  it  was  to  attack  the 
Admiral's  quarters,  or  those  of  the  other  Huguenots. 
M.  de  Guise  hastened  to  the  Admiral's,  and  Besme,  a 
gentleman  in  the  service  of  the  former,  a  German .  by 
birth,  forced  into  his  chamber,  and  having  slain  him 

61 


62  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

with  a  dagger,  threw  his  body  out  of  a  window  to  his 
master. 

I  was  perfectly  ignorant  of  what  was  going  for- 
ward. I  observed  every  one  to  be  in  motion :  the 
Huguenots,  driven  to  despair  by  the  attack  upon 
the  Admiral's  life,  and  the  Guises,  fearing  they 
should  not  have  justice  done  them,  whispering  all 
they  met  in  the  ear. 

The  Huguenots  were  suspicious  of  me  because  I 
was  a  Catholic,  and  the  Catholics  because  I  was 
married  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  who  was  a  Hu- 
guenot. This  being  the  case,  no  one  spoke  a  syllable 
of  the  matter  to  me. 

At  night,  when  I  went  into  the  bedchamber  of  the 
Queen  my  mother,  I  placed  myself  on  a  coffer,  next 
my  sister  Lorraine,  who,  I  could  not  but  remark, 
appeared  greatly  cast  down.  The  Queen  my  mother 
was  in  conversation  with  some  one,  but,  as  soon  as 
she  espied  me,  she  bade  me  go  to  bed.  As  I  was 
taking  leave,  my  sister  seized  me  by  the  hand  and 
stopped  me,  at  the  same  time  shedding  a  flood  of 
tears :  "  For  the  love  of  God,"  cried  she,  "  do  not 
stir  out  of  this  chamber ! "  I  was  greatly  alarmed 
at  this  exclamation ;  perceiving  which,  the  Queen  my 
mother  called  my  sister  to  her,  and  chid  her  very 
severely.  My  sister  replied  it  was  sending  me  away 
to  be  sacrificed ;  for,  if  any  discovery  should  be  made, 
I  should  be  the  first  victim  of  their  revenge.     The 


MARGUERITE    DE  VALOIS.  63 

Queen  my  mother  made  answer  that,  if  it  pleased 
God,  I  should  receive  no  hurt,  but  it  was  necessary 
I  should  go,  to  prevent  the  suspicion  that  might  arise 
from  my  staying. 

I  perceived  there  was  something  on  foot  which  I 
was  not  to  know,  but  what  it  was  I  could  not  make 
out  from  anything  they  said. 

The  Queen  again  bade  me  go  to  bed  in  a  peremp- 
tory tone.  My  sister  wished  me  a  good  night,  her 
tears  flowing  apace,  but  she  did  not  dare  to  say  a 
word  more ;  and  I  left  the  bedchamber  more  dead 
than  alive. 

As  soon  as  I  reached  my  own  closet,  I  threw 
myself  upon  my  knees  and  prayed  to  God  to  take 
me  into  his  protection  and  save  me ;  but  from  whom 
or  what,  I  was  ignorant.  Hereupon  the  King  my 
husband,  who  was  already  in  bed,  sent  for  me.  I 
went  to  him,  and  found  the  bed  surrounded  by  thirty 
or  forty  Huguenots,  who  were  entirely  unknown  to 
me ;  for  I  had  been  then  but  a  very  short  time 
married.  Their  whole  discourse,  during  the  night, 
was  upon  what  had  happened  to  the  Admiral,  and 
they  all  came  to  a  resolution  of  the  next  day  de- 
manding justice  of  the  King  against  M.  de  Guise ; 
and,  if  it  was  refused,  to  take  it  themselves. 

For  my  part,  I  was  unable  to  sleep  a  wink  the 
whole  night,  for  thinking  of  my  sister's  tears  and 
distress,  which  had  greatly  alarmed  me,  although  I 


64  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

had  not  the  least  knowledge  of  the  real  cause.  As 
soon  as  day  broke,  the  King  my  husband  said  he 
would  rise  and  play  at  tennis  until  King  Charles 
was  risen,  when  he  would  go  to  him  immediately 
and  demand  justice.  He  left  the  bedchamber,  and 
all  his  gentlemen  followed. 

As  soon  as  I  beheld  it  was  broad  day,  I  appre- 
hended all  the  danger  my  sister  had  spoken  of  was 
over;  and  being  inclined  to  sleep,  I  bade  my  nurse 
make  the  door  fast,  and  I  applied  myself  to  take 
some  repose.  In  about  an  hour  I  was  awakened  by 
a  violent  noise  at  the  door,  made  with  both  hands 
and  feet,  and  a  voice  calling  out,  "Navarre!  Na- 
varre ! "  My  nurse,  supposing  the  King  my  hus- 
band to  be  at  the  door,  hastened  to  open  it,  when 
a  gentleman,  named  M.  de  Teian,  ran  in,  and  threw 
himself  immediately  upon  my  bed.  He  had  received 
a  wound  in  his  arm  from  a  sword,  and  another  by 
a  pike,  and  was  then  pursued  by  four  archers,  who 
followed  him  into  the  bedchamber.  Perceiving  these 
last,  I  jumped  out  of  bed,  and  the  poor  gentleman 
after  me,  holding  me  fast  by  the  waist.  I  did  not 
then  know  him ;  neither  was  I  sure  that  he  came 
to  do  me  no  harm,  or  whether  the  archers  were  in 
pursuit  of  him  or  me.  In  this  situation  I  screamed 
aloud,  and  he  cried  out  likewise,  for  our  fright  was 
mutual.  At  length,  by  God's  providence,  M.  de 
Nan^ay,  captain  of  the  guard,  came   into   the    bed- 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  65 

chamber,  and,  seeing  me  thus  surrounded,  though 
he  could  not  help  pitying  me,  he  was  scarcely  able 
to  refrain  from  laughter.  However,  he  reprimanded 
the  archers  very  severely  for  their  indiscretion,  and 
drove  them  out  of  the  chamber.  At  my  request  he 
granted  the  poor  gentleman  his  life,  and  I  had  him 
put  to  bed  in  my  closet,  caused  his  wounds  to  be 
dressed,  and  did  not  suffer  him  to  quit  my  apartment 
until  he  was  perfectly  cured.  I  changed  my  shift, 
because  it  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  this  man, 
and,  whilst  I  was  doing  so,  De  Nangay  gave  me  an 
account  of  the  transactions  of  the  foregoing  night, 
assuring  me  that  the  King  my  husband  was  safe,  and 
actually  at  that  moment  in  the  King's  bedchamber. 
He  made  me  muffle  myself  up  in  a  cloak,  and  con- 
ducted me  to  the  apartment  of  my  sister,  Madame 
de  Lorraine,  whither  I  arrived  more  than  half  dead. 
As  we  passed  through  the  antechamber,  all  the  doors 
of  which  were  wide  open,  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Bourse,  pursued  by  archers,  was  run  through  the 
body  with  a  pike,  and  fell  dead  at  my  feet.  As  if 
I  had  been  killed  by  the  same  stroke,  I  fell,  and  was 
caught  by  M.  de  Nan9ay  before  I  reached  the  ground. 
As  soon  as  I  recovered  from  this  fainting-fit,  I  went 
into  my  sister's  bedchamber,  and  was  immediately 
followed  by  M.  de  Mioflano,  first  gentleman  to  the 
King  my  husband,  and  Armagnac,  his  first  valet  de 
chamhre,  who  both    came  to  beg  me  to  save    their 


66  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

lives.  I  went  and  threw  myself  on  my  knees  before 
the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  obtained 
the  lives  of  both  of  them. 

Five  or  six  days  afterwards,  those  who  were  en- 
gaged in  this  plot,  considering  that  it  was  incomplete 
whilst  the  King  my  husband  and  the  Prince  de  Cond^ 
remained  alive,  as  their  design  was  not  only  to  dis- 
pose of  the  Huguenots,  but  of  the  Princes  of  the  blood 
likewise  ;  and  knowing  that  no  attempt  could  be  made 
on  my  husband  whilst  I  continued  to  be  his  wife,  de- 
vised a  scheme  which  they  suggested  to  the  Queen 
my  mother  for  divorcing  me  from  him.  Accordingly, 
one  holiday,  when  I  waited  upon  her  to  chapel,  she 
charged  me  to  declare  to  her,  upon  my  oath,  whether 
I  believed  my  husband  to  be  like  other  men.  "Be- 
cause," said  she,  "  if  he  is  not,  I  can  easily  procure 
you  a  divorce  from  him."  I  begged  her  to  believe 
that  I  was  not  sufficiently  competent  to  answer  such 
a  question,  and  could  only  reply,  as  the  Roman  lady 
did  to  her  husband,  when  he  chid  her  for  not  inform- 
ing him  of  his  stinking  breath,  that,  never  having 
approached  any  other  man  near  enough  to  know  a 
difference,  she  thought  all  men  had  been  alike  in  that 
respect.  "  But,"  said  I,  "  Madame,  since  you  have 
put  the  question  to  me,  I  can  only  declare  I  am  con- 
tent to  remain  as  I  am ; "  and  this  I  said  because  I 
suspected  the  design  of  separating  me  from  my  hus- 
band was  in  order  to  work  some  mischief  against  him. 


LETTER  VI. 

Henri,  Due  d'Anjou,  Elected  King  of  Poland,  Leaves  France. 
—  Huguenot  Plots  to  Withdraw  the  Due  d'Alengon  and 
the  King  of  Navarre  from  Court.  —  Discovered  and  De- 
feated by  Marguerite's  Vigilance.  —  She  Draws  Up  an 
Eloquent  Defence,  Which  Her  Husband  Delivers  before  a 
Committee  from  the  Court  of  Parliament.  —  Alengon  and 
Her  Husband,  under  a  Close  Arrest,  Regain  Their  Liberty 
by  the  Death  of  Charles  IX. 

We  accompanied  the  King  of  Poland  as  far  as 
Beaumont.  For  some  months  before  he  quitted 
France,  he  had  used  every  endeavour  to  efface 
from  my  mind  the  ill  offices  he  had  so  ungrate- 
fully done  me.  He  solicited  to  obtain  the  same 
place  in  my  esteem  which  he  held  during  our  in- 
fancy; and,  on  taking  leave  of  me,  made  me  con- 
firm it  by  oaths  and  promises.  His  departure  from 
France,  and  King  Charles's  sickness,  which  happened 
just  about  the  same  time,  excited  the  spirit  of  the  two 
factions  into  which  the  kingdom  was  divided,  to  form 
a  variety  of  plots.  The  Huguenots,  on  the  death  of 
the  Admiral,  had  obtained  from  the  King  my  hus- 
band, and  my  brother  Alen9on,  a  written  obligation 
to  avenge  it.     Before  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  they 


68  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

had  gained  my  brother  over  to  their  party,  by  the 
hope  of  securing  Flanders  for  him.  They  now  per- 
suaded my  husband  and  him  to  leave  the  King  and 
Queen  on  their  return,  and  pass  into  Champagne, 
there  to  join  some  troops  which  were  in  waiting  to 
receive  them. 

M.  de  Miossans,  a  Catholic  gentleman,  having  re- 
ceived an  intimation  of  this  design,  considered  it  so 
prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  King  his  master, 
that  he  communicated  it  to  me  with  the  intention  of 
frustrating  a  plot  of  so  much  danger  to  themselves 
and  to  the  State.  I  went  immediately  to  the  King 
and  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  informed  them  that 
I  had  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  to  lay  before 
them ;  but  that  I  could  not  declare  it  unless  they 
would  be  pleased  to  promise  me  that  no  harm  should 
ensue  from  it  to  such  as  1  should  name  to  them, 
and  that  they  would  put  a  stop  to  what  was  going 
forward  without  publishing  their  knowledge  of  it. 
Having  obtained  my  request,  I  told  them  that  my 
brother  Alen9on  and  the  King  my  husband  had  an 
intention,  on  the  very  next  day,  of  joining  some 
Huguenot  troops,  which  expected  them,  in  order  to 
fulfil  the  engagement  they  had  made  upon  the  Ad- 
miral's death ;  and  for  this  their  intention,  I  begged 
they  might  be  excused,  and  that  they  might  be  pre- 
vented from  going  away  without  any  discovery  being 
made  that  their  designs  had  been  found  out.      All 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  69 

this  was  granted  me,  and  measures  were  so  prudently 
taken  to  stay  them,  that  they  had  not  the  least  sus- 
picion that  their  intended  evasion  was  known.  Soon 
after,  we  arrived  at  St.  Germain,  where  we  stayed 
some  time,  on  account  of  the  King's  indisposition. 
All  this  while  my  brother  Alen^on  used  every  means 
he  could  devise  to  ingratiate  himself  with  me,  until 
at  last  I  promised  him  my  friendship,  as  I  had  before 
done  to  my  brother  the  King  of  Poland.  As  he  had 
been  brought  up  at  a  distance  from  Court,  we  had 
hitherto  known  very  little  of  each  other,  and  kept 
ourselves  at  a  distance.  Now  that  he  had  made  the 
first  advances,  in  so  respectful  and  affectionate  a  man- 
ner, 1  resolved  to  receive  him  into  a  firm  friendship, 
and  to  interest  myself  in  whatever  concerned  him, 
without  prejudice,  however,  to  the  interests  of  my 
good  brother  King  Charles,  whom  I  loved  more  than 
any  one  besides,  and  who  continued  to  entertain  a 
great  regard  for  me,  of  which  he  gave  me  proofs  as 
long  as  he  lived. 

Meanwhile  King  Charles  was  daily  growing  worse, 
and  the  Huguenots  constantly  forming  new  plots. 
They  were  very  desirous  to  get  my  brother  the  Due 
d'Alen9on  and  the  King  my  husband  away  from 
Court.  I  got  intelligence,  from  time  to  time,  of  their 
designs ;  and,  providentially,  the  Queen  my  mother  de- 
feated their  intentions  when  a  day  had  been  fixed  on 
for  the  arrival  of  the  Huguenot  troops  at  St.  Germain. 


7jO  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

To  avoid  this  visit,  we  set  off  the  night  before  for  Paris, 
two  hours  after  midnight,  putting  King  Charles  in  a 
litter,  and  the  Queen  my  mother  taking  my  brother  and 
the  King  my  husband  with  her  in  her  own  carriage. 

They  did  not  experience  on  this  occasion  such  mild 
treatment  as  they  had  hitherto  done,  for  the  King 
going  to  the  Wood  of  Vincennes,  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  set  foot  out  of  the  palace.  This  misunder- 
standing was  so  far  from  being  mitigated  by  time, 
that  the  mistrust  and  discontent  were  continually 
increasing,  owing  to  the  insinuations  and  bad  advice 
offered  to  the  King  by  those  who  wished  the  ruin  and 
downfall  of  our  house.  To  such  a  height  had  these 
jealousies  risen  that  the  Marechaux  de  Montmorency 
and  de  Cossd  were  put  under  a  close  arrest,  and  La 
Mole  and  the  Comte  de  Donas  executed.  Matters 
were  now  arrived  at  such  a  pitch  that  commissioners 
were  appointed  from  the  Court  of  Parliament  to  hear 
and  determine  upon  the  case  of  my  brother  and  the 
King  my  husband. 

My  husband,  having  no  counsellor  to  assist  him, 
desired  me  to  draw  up  his  defence  in  such  a  manner 
that  he  might  not  implicate  any  person,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  clear  my  brother  and  himself  from  any 
criminality  of  conduct.  With  God's  help  I  accom- 
plished this  task  to  his  great  satisfaction,  and  to  the 
surprise  of  the  commissioners,  who  did  not  expect  to 
find  them  so  well  prepared  to  justify  themselves. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  Tl 

As  it  was  apprehended,  after  the  death  of  La  Mole 
and  the  Comte  de  Donas,  that  their  lives  were  likewise 
in  danger,  I  had  resolved  to  save  them  at  the  hazard 
of  my  own  ruin  with  the  King,  whose  favour  I  entirely 
enjoyed  at  that  time.  I  was  suffered  to  pass  to  and 
from  them  in  my  coach,  with  my  women,  who  were 
not  even  required  by  the  guard  to  unmask,  nor  was 
my  coach  ever  searched.  This  being  the  case,  I  had 
intended  to  convey  away  one  of  them  disguised  in  a 
female  habit.  But  the  difficulty  lay  in  settling  betwixt 
themselves  which  should  remain  behind  in  prison,  they 
being  closely  watched  by  their  guards,  and  the  escape 
of  one  bringing  the  other's  life  into  hazard.  Thus 
they  could  never  agree  upon  the  point,  each  of  them 
wishing  to  be  the  person  I  should  deliver  from  con- 
finement. 

But  Providence  put  a  period  to  their  imprisonment 
by  a  means  which  proved  very  unfortunate  for  me. 
This  was  no  other  than  the  death  of  King  Charles, 
who  was  the  only  stay  and  support  of  my  life,  —  a 
brother  from  whose  hands  I  never  received  anything 
but  good  ;  who,  during  the  persecution  I  underwent  at 
Angers,  through  my  brother  Anjou,  assisted  me  with 
all  his  advice  and  credit.  In  a  word,  when  I  lost  King 
Charles,  I  lost  everything. 


LETTER   VII. 

Accession  of  Henri  III.  —  A  Journey  to  Lyons.  —  Marguerite's 
Faith  in  Supernatural  Intelligence. 

After  this  fatal  event,  which  was  as  unfortunate 
for  France  as  for  me,  we  went  to  Lyons  to  give  the 
meeting  to  the  King  of  Poland,  now  Henri  III.  of 
France.  The  new  King  was  as  much  governed  by  Le 
Guast  as  ever,  and  had  left  this  intriguing,  mischie- 
vous man  behind  in  France  to  keep  his  party  together. 
Through  this  man's  insinuations  he  had  conceived  the 
most  confirmed  jealousy  of  my  brother  Alen9on.  He 
suspected  that  I  was  the  bond  that  connected  the 
King  my  husband  and  my  brother,  and  that,  to  dis- 
solve their  union,  it  would  be  necessary  to  create  a 
coolness  between  me  and  my  husband,  and  to  work  up 
a  quarrel  of  rivalship  betwixt  them  both  by  means  of 
Madame  de  Sauves,  whom  they  both  visited.  This 
abominable  plot,  which  proved  the  source  of  so  much 
disquietude  and  unhappiness,  as  well  to  my  brother  as 
myself,  was  as  artfully  conducted  as  it  was  wickedly 
designed. 

Many  have  held  that  God  has  great  personages 
more  immediately  under  his  protection,  and  that 
minds  of  superior  excellence  have  bestowed  on  them 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  73 

a  good  genius,  or  secret  intelligencer,  to  apprise  them 
of  good,  or  warn  them  against  evil.  Of  this  number 
I  might  reckon  the  Queen  my  mother,  who  has  had 
frequent  intimations  of  the  kind ;  particularly  the 
very  night  before  the  tournament  which  proved  so 
fatal  to  the  King  my  father,  she  dreamed  that  she 
saw  him  wounded  in  the  eye,  as  it  really  happened  ; 
upon  which  she  awoke,  and  begged  him  not  to  run  a 
course  that  day,  but  content  himself  with  looking  on. 
Fate  prevented  the  nation  from  enjoying  so  much 
happiness  as  it  would  have  done  had  he  followed  her 
advice.  Whenever  she  lost  a  child,  she  beheld  a  bright 
flame  shining  before  her,  and  would  immediately  cry 
out,  "God  save  my  children!"  well  knowing  it  was 
the  harbinger  of  the  death  of  some  one  of  them,  which 
melancholy  news  was  sure  to  be  confirmed  very  shortly 
after.  During  her  very  dangerous  illness  at  Metz, 
where  she  caught  a  pestilential  fever,  either  from  the 
coal  fires,  or  by  visiting  some  of  the  nunneries  which 
had  been  infected,  and  from  which  she  was  restored  to 
health  and  to  the  kingdom  through  the  great  skill 
and  experience  of  that  modern  ^Esculapius,  M.  de 
Castillan,  her  physician  —  I  say,  during  that  illness, 
her  bed  being  surrounded  by  my  brother  King  Charles, 
my  brother  and  sister  Lorraine,  several  members  of 
the  Council,  besides  many  ladies  and  princesses,  not 
choosing  to  quit  her,  though  without  hopes  of  her 
life,  she  was  heard  to  cry   out,   as    if   she   saw  the 


74  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

battle  of  Jarnac  :  "  There  !  see  how  they  flee  !  My 
son,  follow  them  to  victory !  Ah,  my  son  falls !  O 
my  God,  save  him !  See  there !  the  Prince  de  Cond^ 
is  dead !  "  All  who  were  present  looked  upon  these 
words  as  proceeding  from  her  delirium,  as  she  knew 
that  my  brother  Anjou  was  on  the  point  of  giving 
battle,  and  thought  no  more  of  it.  On  the  night 
following,  M.  de  Losses  brought  the  news  of  the  bat- 
tle ;  and,  it  being  supposed  that  she  would  be  pleased 
to  hear  of  it,  she  was  awakened,  at  which  she  ap- 
peared to  be  angry,  saying :  "  Did  I  not  know  it 
yesterday  ? "  It  was  then  that  those  about  her 
recollected  what  I  have  now  related,  and  concluded 
that  it  was  no  delirium,  but  one  of  those  revelations 
made  by  God  to  great  and  illustrious  persons.  Ancient 
history  furnishes  many  examples  of  the  like  kind 
amongst  the  pagans,  as  the  apparition  of  Brutus  and 
many  others,  which  I  shall  not  mention,  it  not  being 
my  intention  to  illustrate  these  Memoirs  with  such 
narratives,  but  only  to  relate  the  truth,  and  that  with 
as  much  expedition  as  I  am  able,  that  you  may  be 
the  sooner  in  possession  of  my  story. 

I  am  far  from  supposing  that  I  am  worthy  of  these 
divine  admonitions ;  nevertheless,  I  should  accuse 
myself  of  ingratitude  towards  my  God  for  the  benefits 
I  have  received,  which  I  esteem  myself  obliged  to 
acknowledge  whilst  I  live ;  and  I  further  believe 
myself   bound   to    bear    testimony    of   his   goodness 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  75 

and  power,  and  the  mercies  he  hath  shown  me,  so 
that  I  can  declare  no  extraordinary  accident  ever 
befell  me,  whether  fortunate  or  otherwise,  but  I  re- 
ceived some  warning  of  it,  cither  by  dream  or  in  some 
other  way,  so  that  I  may  say  with  the  poet  — 

"  De  mon  bien,  ou  mon  mal, 
Mon  espi'it  m'est  oracle." 

(Whate'er  of  good  or  ill  befell, 
My  mind  was  oracle  to  tell.) 

And  of  this  I  had  a  convincing  proof  on  the  arrival 
of  the  King  of  Poland,  when  the  Queen  my  mother 
went  to  meet  him.  Amidst  the  embraces  and  com- 
pliments of  welcome  in  that  warm  season,  crowded 
as  we  were  together  and  stifling  with  heat,  I  found  a 
universal  shivering  come  over  me,  which  was  plainly 
perceived  by  those  near  me.  It  was  with  difficulty 
I  could  conceal  what  I  felt  when  the  King,  having 
saluted  the  Queen  my  mother,  came  forward  to  salute 
me.  This  secret  intimation  of  what  was  to  happen 
thereafter  made  a  strong  impression  on  my  mind  at 
the  moment,  and  I  thought  of  it  shortly  after,  when 
I  discovered  that  the  King  had  conceived  a  hatred  of 
me  through  the  malicious  suggestions  of  Le  Guast, 
who  had  made  him  believe,  since  the  King's  death, 
that  I  espoused  my  brother  Alen9on's  party  during 
his  absence,  and  cemented  a  friendship  betwixt  the 
King  my  husband  and  him. 


LETTER   YIII. 

What  Happened  at  Lyons. 

An  opportunity  was  diligently  sought  by  my  ene- 
mies to  effect  their  design  of  bringing  about  a  mis- 
understanding betwixt  my  brother  Alengon,  the  King 
my  husband,  and  me,  by  creating  a  jealousy  of  me 
in  my  husband,  and  in  my  brother  and  husband,  on 
account  of  their  mutual  love  for  Madame  de  Sauves. 

One  afternoon,  the  Queen  my  mother  having  retired 
to  her  closet  to  finish  some  despatches  which  were 
likely  to  detain  her  there  for  some  time,  Madame  de 
Nevers,  your  kinswoman,  Madame  de  Rais,  another 
of  your  relations,  Bourdeille,  and  Surgdres  asked  me 
whether  I  would  not  wish  to  see  a  little  of  the  city. 
Whereupon  Mademoiselle  de  Montigny,  the  niece  of 
Madame  Usez,  observing  to  us  that  the  Abbey  of 
St.  Pierre  was  a  beautiful  convent,  we  all  resolved 
to  visit  it.  She  then  begged  to  go  with  us,  as  she 
said  she  had  an  aunt  in  that  convent,  and  as  it  was 
not  easy  to  gain  admission  into  it,  except  in  the  com- 
pany of  persons  of  distinction.  Accordingly,  she  went 
with  us;  and  there  being  six  of  us,  the  carriage  was 
crowded.     Over  and  above  those  I  have  mentioned. 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  -  77 

there  was  Madame  de  Curton,  the  lady  of  my  bed- 
chamber, who  always  attended  me.  Liancourt,  first 
esquire  to  the  King,  and  Camille  placed  themselves 
on  the  steps  of  Torigni's  carriage,  supporting  them- 
selves as  well  as  they  were  able,  making  themselves 
merry  on  the  occasion,  and  saying  they  would  go  and 
see  the  handsome  nuns,  too.  I  look  upon  it  as  ordered 
by  Divine  Providence  that  I  should  have  Mademoiselle 
de  Montigny  with  me,  who  was  not  well  acquainted 
with  any  lady  of  the  company,  and  that  the  two 
gentlemen  just  mentioned,  who  were  in  the  confidence 
of  King  Henri,  should  likewise  be  of  the  party,  as 
they  were  able  to  clear  me  of  the  calumny  intended 
to  be  fixed  upon  me. 

Whilst  we  were  viewing  the  convent,  my  carriage 
waited  for  us  in  the  square.  In  the  square  many 
gentlemen  belonging  to  the  Court  had  their  lodgings. 
My  carriage  was  easily  to  be  distinguished,  as  it  was 
gilt  and  lined  with  yellow  velvet  trimmed  with  silver. 
We  had  not  come  out  of  the  convent  when  the  King 
passed  through  the  square  on  his  way  to  see  Quelus, 
who  was  then  sick.  He  had  with  him  the  King  my 
husband,  D'O ,  and  the  fat  fellow  Ruff^. 

The  King,  observing  no  one  in  my  carriage,  turned 
to  my  husband  and  said :  "  There  is  your  wife's  coach, 
and  that  is  the  house  where  Bid^  lodges.  Bid^  is 
sick,  and  I  will  engage  my  word  she  is  gone  upon  a 
visit  to  hun.     Go,"  said  ho  to  Ruff^,  "  and  see  whether 


78  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

she  is  not  there."  In  saying  this,  the  King  addressed 
himself  to  a  proper  tool  for  his  malicious  purpose,  for 
this  fellow  Ruff^  was  entirely  devoted  to  Le  Guast. 
I  need  not  tell  you  he  did  not  find  me  there;  how- 
ever, knowing  the  King's  intention,  he,  to  favour  it, 
said  loud  enough  for  the  King  my  husband  to  hear 
him :  "  The  birds  have  been  there,  but  they  are  now 
flown."  This  furnished  sufficient  matter  for  conver- 
sation until  they  reached  home. 

Upon  this  occasion,  the  King  my  husband  displayed 
all  the  good  sense  and  generosity  of  temper  for  which 
he  is  remarkable.  He  saw  through  the  design,  and 
he  despised  the  maliciousness  of  it.  The  King  my 
brother  was  anxious  to  see  the  Queen  my  mother 
before  me,  to  whom  he  imparted  the  pretended  dis- 
covery, and  she,  whether  to  please  a  son  on  whom  she 
doted,  or  whether  she  really  gave  credit  to  the  story, 
had  related  it  to  some  ladies  with  much  seeming 
anger. 

Soon  afterwards  I  returned  with  the  ladies  who 
had  accompanied  me  to  St.  Pierre's,  entirely  igno- 
rant of  what  had  happened.  I  found  the  King  my 
husband  in  our  apartments,  who  began  to  laugh  on 
seeing  me,  and  said :  "  Go  immediately  to  the  Queen 
your  mother,  but  I  promise  you  you  will  not  return 
very  well  pleased."  I  asked  him  the  reason,  and 
what  had  happened.  He  answered  :  "  I  shall  tell  you 
nothing ;  but  be  assured  of  this,  that  I  do  not  give  the 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  79 

least  credit  to  the  story,  which  I  plainly  perceive  to 
be  fabricated  in  order  to  stir  up  a  difference  betwixt 
us  two,  and  break  off  the  friendly  intercourse  between 
your  brother  and  me." 

Finding  I  could  get  no  further  information  on  the 
subject  from  him,  I  went  to  the  apartment  of  the 
Queen  my  mother.  I  met  M.  de  Guise  in  the  ante- 
chamber, who  was  not  displeased  at  the  prospect  of  a 
dissension  in  our  family,  hoping  that  he  might  make 
some  advantage  of  it.  He  addressed  me  in  these 
words :  "  I  waited  here  expecting  to  see  you,  in  order 
to  inform  you  that  some  ill  office  has  been  done  you 
with  the  Queen."     He  then  told  me  the  story  he  had 

learned  of  D'O ,  who,  being  intimate  with  your 

kinswoman,  had  informed  M.  de  Guise  of  it,  that  he 
might  apprise  us. 

I  went  into  the  Queen's  bedchamber,  but  did  not 
find  my  mother  there.  However,  I  saw  Madame  de 
Nemours,  the  rest  of  the  princesses,  and  other  ladies, 
who  all  exclaimed  on  seeing  me  :  "  Good  God !  the 
Queen  your  mother  is  in  such  a  rage  ;  we  would  advise 
you,  for  the  present,  to  keep  out  of  her  sight." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  so  I  would,  had  I  been  guilty  of 
what  the  King  has  reported  ;  but  I  assure  you  all  I 
am  entirely  innocent,  and  must  therefore  speak  with 
her  and  clear  myself." 

I  then  went  into  her  closet,  which  was  separated 
from  the  bedchamber  by  a  slight  partition  only,  so 


80  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  our  whole  conversation  could  be  distinctly  heard. 
She  no  sooner  set  eyes  upon  me  than  she  flew  into  a 
great  passion,  and  said  everything  that  the  fury  of 
her  resentmen,t  suggested.  I  related  to  her  the  whole 
truth,  and  begged  to  refer  her  to  the  company  which 
attended  me,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  twelve  persons, 
desiring  her  not  to  rely  on  the  testimony  of  those  more 
immediately  about  me,  but  examine  Mademoiselle  Mon- 
tigny,  who  did  not  belong  to  me,  and  Liancourt  and 
Camille,  who  were  the  King's  servants. 

She  would  not  hear  a  word  I  had  to  offer,  but  con- 
tinued to  rate  me  in  a  furious  manner ;  whether  it 
was  through  fear,  or  affection  for  her  son,  or  whether 
she  believed  the  story  in  earnest,  I  know  not.  When 
I  observed  to  her  that  I  understood  the  King  had 
done  me  this  ill  office  m  her  opinion,  her  anger 
was  redoubled,  and  she  endeavoured  to  make  me 
believe  that  she  had  been  informed  of  the  circum- 
stance by  one  of  her  own  valets  de  chambre,  who  had 
himself  seen  me  at  the  place.  Perceiving  that  I  gave 
no  credit  to  this  account  of  the  matter,  she  became 
more  and  more  incensed  against  me. 

All  that  was  said  was  perfectly  heard  by  those  in 
the  next  room.  At  length  I  left  her  closet,  much 
chagrined ;  and  returning  to  my  own  apartments,  I 
found  the  King  my  husband  there,  who  said  to  me : 
"  Well,  was  it  not  as  I  told  you  ?  " 

He,  seeing  me  under  great  concern,  desired  me  not 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  81 

to  grieve  about  it,  adding  that "  Liancourt  and  Camille 
would  attend  the  King  that  night  in  his  bedchamber, 
and  relate  the  affair  as  it  really  was ;  and  to-morrow," 
continued  he,  "  the  Queen  your  mother  will  receive 
yotf  in  a  very  different  manner." 

"  But,  monsieur,"  I  replied,  "  I  have  received  too 
gross  an  affront  in  public  to  forgive  those  who  were 
the  occasion  of  it ;  but  that  is  nothing  when  compared 
with  the  malicious  intention  of  causing  so  heavy  a  mis- 
fortune to  befall  me  as  to  create  a  variance  betwixt 
you  and  me." 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  God  be  thanked,  they  have  failed 
in  it." 

"  For  that,"  answered  I,  "  I  am  the  more  beholden 
to  God  and  your  amiable  disposition.  However,"  con- 
tinued I,  "  we  may  derive  this  good  from  it,  that  it 
ought  to  be  a  warning  to  us  to  put  ourselves  upon  our 
guard  against  the  King's  stratagems  to  bring  about 
a  disunion  betwixt  you  and  my  brother,  by  causing  a 
rupture  betwixt  you  and  me." 

Whilst  I  was  saying  this,  my  brother  entered  the 
apartment,  and  I  made  them  renew  their  protestations 
of  friendship.  But  what  oaths  or  promises  can  pre- 
vail against  love !  This  will  appear  more  fully  in 
the  sequel  of  my  story. 

An  Italian  banker,  who  had  concerns  with  my 
brother,  came  to  him  the  next  morning,  and  invited 
him,  the  King  my  husband,  myself,  the  princesses, 


82  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

and  other  ladies,  to  partake  of  an  entertainment  in 
a  garden  belonging  to  him.  Having  made  it  a  con- 
stant rule,  before  and  after  I  married,  as  long  as  I 
remained  in  the  Court  of  the  Queen  my  mother,  to 
go  to  no  place  without  her  permission,  I  waited  on 
her,  at  her  return  from  mass,  and  asked  leave  to  be 
present  at  this  banquet.  She  refused  to  give  any 
leave,  and  said  she  did  not  care  where  I  went.  I 
leave  you  to  judge,  who  know  my  temper,  whether 
I  was  not  greatly  mortified  at  this  rebuff. 

Whilst  we  were  enjoying  this  entertainment,  the 
King,  having  spoken  with  Liancourt,  Camille,  and 
Mademoiselle  Montigny,  was  apprised  of  the  mis- 
take which  the  malice  or  misapprehension  of  Ruffd 
had  led  him  into.  Accordingly,  he  went  to  the 
Queen  my  mother  and  related  the  whole  truth,  en- 
treating her  to  remove  any  ill  impressions  that  might 
remain  with  me,  as  he  perceived  that  I  was  not  defi- 
cient in  point  of  understanding,  and  feared  that  I 
might  be  induced  to  engage  in  some  plan  of  revenge. 

When  I  returned  from  the  banquet  before  men- 
tioned, I  found  that  what  the  King  my  husband 
had  foretold  was  come  to  pass  ;  for  the  Queen  my 
mother  sent  for  me  into  her  back  closet,  which  was 
adjoining  the  King's,  and  told  me  that  she  was  now 
acquainted  with  the  truth,  and  found  I  had  not  de- 
ceived her  with  a  false  story.  She  had  discovered,  she 
said,  that  there  was  not  the  least  foundation  for  the 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  83 

report  her  valet  de  cJtamhre  had  made,  and  should 
dismiss  him  from  her  service  as  a  bad  man.  As  she 
perceived  by  my  looks  that  I  saw  through  this  dis- 
guise, she  said  everything  she  could  think  of  to  per- 
suade me  to  a  belief  that  the  King  had  not  mentioned 
it  to  her.  She  continued  her  arguments,  and  I  still 
appeared  incredulous.  At  length  the  King  entered 
the  closet,  and  made  many  apologies,  declaring  he 
had  been  imposed  on,  and  assuring  me  of  his  most 
cordial  friendship  and  esteem;  and  thus  matters  were 
set  to  rights  again. 


LETTER  IX. 

Fresh  Intrigues.  —  Marriage  of  Henri  III Bussi  Arrives  at 

Court  and  Narrowly  Escapes  Assassination. 

After  staying  some  time  at  Lyons,  we  went  to 
Avignon.  Le  Guast,  not  daring  to  hazard  any  fresh 
imposture,  and  finding  that  my  conduct  afforded  no 
ground  for  jealousy  on  the  part  of  my  husband, 
plainly  perceived  that  he  could  not,  by  that  means, 
bring  about  a  misunderstanding  betwixt  my  brother 
and  the  King  my  husband.  He  therefore  resolved  to 
try  what  he  could  effect  through  Madame  de  Sauves. 
In  order  to  do  this,  he  obtained  such  an  influence  over 
her  that  she  acted  entirely  as  he  directed ;  insomuch 
that,  by  his  artful  instructions,  the  passion  which 
these  young  men  had  conceived,  hitherto  wavering 
and  cold,  as  is  generally  the  case  at  their  time  of  life, 
became  of  a  sudden  so  violent  that  ambition  and 
every  obligation  of  duty  were  at  once  absorbed  by 
their  attentions  to  this  woman. 

This  occasioned  such  a  jealousy  betwixt  them  that, 
though  her  favours  were  divided  with  M.  de  Guise, 
Le  Guast,  De  Souvray,  and  others,  any  one  of  whom 
she  preferred  to  the  brothers-in-law,  such  was  the  in- 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  86 

fatuation  of  these  last,  that  each  considered  the  other 
as  his  only  rival. 

To  carry  on  De  Guast's  sinister  designs,  this 
■woman  persuaded  the  King  my  husband  that  I  was 
jealous  of  her,  and  on  that  account  it  was  that  I 
joined  with  my  brother.  As  we  are  ready  to  give  ear 
and  credit  to  those  we  love,  he  believed  all  she  said. 
From  this  time  he  became  distant  and  reserved 
towards  me,  shunning  my  presence  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  whereas,  before,  he  was  open  and  communica- 
tive to  me  as  to  a  sister,  well  knowing  that  I  yielded  to 
his  pleasure  in  all  things,  and  was  far  from  harbour- 
ing jealousy  of  any  kind. 

What  I  had  dreaded,  I  now  perceived  had  come  to 
pass.  This  was  the  loss  of  his  favour  and  good 
opinion ;  to  preserve  which  I  had  studied  to  gain  his 
confidence  by  a  ready  compliance  with  his  wishes, 
well  knowing  that  mistrust  is  the  sure  forerunner 
of  hatred. 

I  now  turned  my  mind  to  an  endeavour  to  wean 
my  brother's  affection  from  Madame  de  Sauves,  in 
order  to  counterplot  Le  Guast  in  his  design  to  bring 
about  a  division,  and  thereby  to  effect  our  ruin.  I 
used  every  means  with  my  brother  to  divert  his 
passion;  but  the  fascination  was  too  strong,  and  my 
pains  proved  ineffectual.  In  anything  else,  my  brother 
would  have  suffered  himself  to  be  ruled  by  me ;  but 
the  charms  of  this  Circe,  aided  by  that  sorcerer,  Le 


86  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Guast,  were  too  powerful  to  be  dissolved  by  my  advice. 
So  far  was  be  from  profiting  by  my  counsel  that  he 
was  weak  enough  to  communicate  it  to  her.  So  blind 
are  lovers ! 

Her  vengeance  was  excited  by  this  communication, 
and  she  now  entered  more  fully  into  the  designs  of 
Le  Guast.  In  consequence,  she  used  all  her  art  to 
make  the  King  my  husband  conceive  an  aversion  iot 
me ;  insomuch  that  he  scarcely  ever  spoke  with  me. 
He  left  her  late  at  night,  and,  to  prevent  our  meeting 
in  the  morning,  she  directed  him  to  come  to  her  at 
the  Queen's  levee,  which  she  duly  attended ;  after 
which  he  passed  the  rest  of  the  day  with  her.  Mj' 
brother  likewise  followed  her  with  the  greatest  assidu- 
ity, and  she  had  the  artifice  to  make  each  of  them 
think  that  he  alone  had  any  place  in  her  esteem. 
Thus  was  a  jealousy  kept  up  betwixt  them,  and,  in 
consequence,  disunion  and  mutual  ruin ! 

We  made  a  considerable  stay  at  Avignon,  whence 
we  proceeded  through  Burgundy  and  Champagne  to 
Rheims,  where  the  King's  marriage  was  celebrated. 
From  Rheims  we  came  to  Paris,  things  going  on  in 
their  usual  train,  and  Le  Guast  prosecuting  his  designs 
with  all  the  success  he  could  wish.  At  Paris  my 
brother  was  joined  by  Bussi,  whom  he  received  with 
all  the  favour  which  his  bravery  merited.  He  Avas 
inseparable  from  my  brother,  in  consequence  of  which 
I  frequently  saw  him,  for  my  brother  and  I  were 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  87 

always  together,  his  household  being  equally  at  my 
devotion  as  if  it  were  my  own.  Your  aunt,  remark- 
ing this  harmony  betwixt  us,  has  often  told  me  that 
it  called  to  her  recollection  the  times  of  my  uncle, 
M.  d'Orl^ans,  and  my  aunt,  Madame  de  Savoie. 

Le  Guast  thought  this  a  favourable  circumstance 
to  complete  his  design.  Accordingly,  he  suggested  to 
Madame  de  Sauves  to  make  my  husband  believe  that 
it  was  on  account  of  Bussi  that  I  frequented  my 
brother's  apartments  so  constantly. 

The  King  my  husband,  being  fully  informed  of  all 
my  proceedings  from  persons  in  his  service  who 
attended  me  everywhere,  could  not  be  induced  to  lend 
an  ear  to  this  story.  Le  Guast,  finding  himself  foiled 
in  this  quarter,  applied  to  the  King,  who  was  well 
inclined  to  listen  to  the  tale,  on  account  of  his  dislike 
to  my  brother  and  me,  whose  friendship  for  each  other 
was  unpleasing  to  him. 

Besides  this,  he  was  incensed  against  Bussi,  who, 
being  formerly  attached  to  him,  had  now  devoted 
himself  wholly  to  my  brother,  —  an  acquisition  which, 
on  account  of  the  celebrity  of  Bussi's  fame  for  parts 
and  valour,  redounded  greatly  to  my  brother's  honour, 
whilst  it  increased  the  malice  and  envy  of  his  enemies. 

The  King,  thus  worked  upon  by  Le  Guast,  men- 
tioned it  to  the  Queen  my  mother,  thinking  it  would 
have  the  same  effect  on  her  as  the  tale  which  was 
trumped  up  at  Lyons.     But  she,  seeing  through  the 


88  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

whole  design,  showed  him  the  improbability  of  the 
story,  adding  that  he  must  have  some  wicked  people 
about  him,  who  could  put  sucji  notions  in  his  head, 
observing  that  I  was  very  unfortunate  to  have  fallen 
upon  such  evil  times.  "  In  my  younger  days,"  said 
she,  "  we  were  allowed  to  converse  freely  with  all  the 
gentlemen  who  belonged  to  the  King  our  father, 
the  Dauphin,  and  M.  d'OrMans,  your  uncles.  It  was 
common  for  them  to  assemble  in  the  bedchamber  of 
Madame  Marguerite,  your  aunt,  as  well  as  in  mine, 
and  nothing  was  thought  of  it.  Neither  ought  it  to 
appear  strange  that  Bussi  sees  my  daughter  in  the 
presence  of  her  husband's  servants.  They  are  not 
shut  up  together.  Bussi  is  a  person  of  quality,  and 
holds  the  first  place  in  your  brother's  family.  What 
grounds  are  there  for  such  a  calumny  ?  At  Lyons 
you  caused  me  to  offer  her  an  affront,  which  I  fear 
she  will  never  forget." 

The  King  was  astonished  to  hear  his  mother  talk 
in  this  manner,  and  interrupted  her  with  saying: 
"  Madame,  I  only  relate  what  I  have  heard." 

"  But  who  is  it,"  answered  she,  "  that  tells  you  all 
this  ?  I  fear  no  one  that  intends  you  any  good,  but  rath- 
er one  that  wishes  to  create  divisions  amongst  you  all." 

As  soon  as  the  King  had  left  her  she  told  me  all 
that  had  passed,  and  said :  "  You  are  unfortunate  to 
live  in  these  times."  Then  calling  your  aunt,  Madame 
de  Dampierre,  they  entered  into  a  discourse  concern- 


MARGUERITE    DE  VALOIS.  8^ 

ing  the  pleasures  and  innocent  freedoms  of  the  times 
they  had  seen,  when  scandal  and  malevolence  were 
imknown  at  Court. 

Le  Guast,  finding  this  plot  miscarry,  was  not  long 
in  contriving  another.  He  addressed  himself  for  this 
purpose  to  certain  gentlemen  who  attended  the  King 
my  husband.  These  had  been  formerly  the  friends 
of  Bussi,  but,  envying  the  glory  he  had  obtained, 
were  now  become  his  enemies.  Under  the  mask  of 
zeal  for  their  master,  they  disguised  the  envy  which 
they  harboured  in  their  breasts.  They  entered  into  a 
design  of  assassinating  Bussi  as  he* left  my  brother  to 
go  to  his  own  lodgings,  which  was  generally  at  a  late 
hour.  They  knew  that  he  was  always  accompanied 
home  by  fifteen  or  sixteen  gentlemen,  belonging  to 
my  brother,  and  that,  notwithstanding  he  wore  no 
sword,  having  been  lately  wounded  in  the  right  arm, 
his  presence  was  sufficient  to  inspire  the  rest  with 
courage. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  make  sure  work,  they  re- 
solved on  attacking  him  with  two  or  three  hundred 
men,  thinking  that  night  would  throw  a  veil  over  the 
disgrace  of  such  an  assassination. 

Le  Guast,  who  commanded  a  regiment  of  guards, 
furnished  the  requisite  number  of  men,  whom  he  dis~ 
posed  in  five  or  six  divisions,  in  the  street  through 
which  he  was  to  pass.  Their  orders  were  to  put  out 
^the  torches  and  Jlamheaux,   and   then   to  fire   their 


90  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

pieces,  after  which  they  were  to  charge  his  company, 
observing  particularly  to  attack  one  who  had  his  right 
arm  slung  in  a  scarf. 

Fortunately  they  escaped  the  intended  massacre,  and, 
fighting  their  way  through,  reached  Bussi's  lodgings, 
one  gentleman  only  being  killed,  who  was  particularly 
attached  to  M.  de  Bussi,  and  who  was  probably  mistaken 
for  him,  as  he  had  his  arm  likewise  slung  in  a  scarf. 

An  Italian  gentleman,  who  belonged  to  my  brother, 
left  them  at  the  beguming  of  the  attack,  and  came 
running  back  to  the  Louvre.  As  soon  as  he  reached 
my  brother's  chamber  door,  he  cried  out  aloud: 
"  Bussi  is  assassinated  !  "  My  brother  was  going  out, 
but  I,  hearing  the  cry  of  assassination,  left  my  cham- 
ber, by  good  fortune  not  being  undressed,  and  stopped 
my  brother.  I  then  sent  for  the  Queen  my  mother  to 
come  with  all  haste  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  go- 
ing out,  as  he  was  resolved  to  do,  regardless  of  what 
might  happen.  It  was  with  difficulty  we  could  stay 
him,  though  the  Queen  my  mother  represented  the 
hazard  he  ran  from  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and 
his  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the  attack,  which  might 
have  been  purposely  designed  by  Le  Guast  to  take 
away  his  life.  Her  entreaties  and  persuasions  would 
have  been  of  little  avail  if  she  had  not  used  her  au- 
thority to  order  all  the  doors  to  be  barred,  and  taken 
the  resolution  of  remaining  where  she  was  until  she 
had  learned  what  had  really  happened. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  91 

Bussi,  whom  God  had  thus  miraculously  preserved, 
with  that  presence  of  mind  which  he  was  so  remark- 
able for  in  time  of  battle  and  the  most  imminent  dan- 
ger, considering  within  himself  when  he  reached  home 
the  anxiety  of  his  master's  mind  should  he  have  re- 
ceived any  false  report,  and  fearing  he  might  expose 
himself  to  hazard  upon  the  first  alarm  being  given 
(which  certainly  would  have  been  the  case,  if  my 
mother  had  not  interfered  and  prevented  it),  immedi- 
ately despatched  one  of  his  people  to  let  him  know 
every  circumstance. 

The  next  day  Bussi  showed  himself  at  the  Louvre 
without  the  least  dread  of  enemies,  as  if  what  had 
happened  had  been  merely  the  attack  of  a  tourna- 
ment. My  brother  exhibited  much  pleasure  at  the 
sight  of  Bussi,  but  expressed  great  resentment  at  such 
a  daring  attempt  to  deprive  him  of  so  brave  and  valu- 
able a  servant,  a  man  whom  Le  Guast  durst  not  attack 
in  any  other  way  than  by  a  base  assassination. 


LETTER  X. 

Bussi  Is  Sent  from  Court Marguerite's  Husband  Attacked 

with  a  Fit  of  Epilepsy.  —  Her  Great  Care  of  Him To- 

rigni  Dismissed  from  Marguerite' s  Service.  —  The  King 
of  N.^'Varre  and  the  Due  d'Alengon  Secretly  Leave  the 
Court. 

The  Queen  my  mother,  a  woman  endowed  with  the 
greatest  prudence  and  foresight  of  any  one  I  ever  knew, 
apprehensive  of  evil  consequences  from  this  affair,  and 
fearing  a  dissension  betwixt  her  two  sons,  advised  my 
brother  to  fall  upon  some  pretence  for  sending  Bussi 
away  from  Court.  In  this  advice  I  joined  her,  and, 
through  our  united  counsel  and  request,  my  brother 
was  prevailed  upon  to  give  his  consent.  I  had  every 
reason  to  suppose  that  Le  Guast  would  take  advantage 
of  the  rencounter  to  foment  the  coolness  which  already 
existed  betwixt  my  brother  and  the  King  my  husband 
into  an  open  rupture.  Bussi,  who  implicitly  followed 
my  brother's  directions  in  everything','  departed  with  a 
company  of  the  bravest  noblemen  that  were  about  the 
latter's  person. 

Bussi  was  now  removed  from  the  machinations  of 
Le   Guast,   who  likewise    failed   in   accomplishing   a 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  93 

design  he  had  long  projected,  —  to  disunite  the  King 
mj  husband  and  me. 

One  night  my  husband  was  attacked  with  a  fit,  and 
continued  insensible  for  the  space  of  an  hour,  —  occa- 
sioned, I  supposed,  by  his  excesses  with  women,  for  I 
never  knew  anything  of  the  kind  to  happen  to  him 
before.  However,  as  it  was  my  duty  so  to  do,  I 
attended  him  with  so  much  care  and  assiduity  that, 
when  he  recovered,  he  spoke  of  it  to  every  one,  declar- 
ing that,  if  I  had  not  perceived  his  indisposition  and 
called  for  the  help  of  my  women,  he  should  not  have 
survived  the  fit. 

From  this  time  he  treated  me  with  more  kindness, 
and  the  cordiality  betwixt  my  brother  and  him  was 
again  revived,  as  if  I  had  been  the  point  of  union  at 
which  they  were  to  meet,  or  the  cement  that  joined 
them  together. 

Le  Guast  was  now  at  his  wit's  end  for  some  fresh 
contrivance  to  breed  disunion  in  the  Court. 

He  had  lately  persuaded  the  King  to  remove  from 
about  the  person  of  the  Queen-consort,  a  princess  of 
the  greatest  virtue  and  most  amiable  qualities,  a 
female  attendant  of  the  name  of  Changi,  for  whom  the 
Queen  entertained  a  particular  esteem,  as  having  been 
brought  up  with  her.  Being  successful  in  this  meas- 
ure, he  now  thought  of  making  the  King  my  husband 
send  away  Torigni,  whom  I  greatly  regarded. 

The   argument  he  used  with  the  King  was,  that 


94  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

young  princesses  ought  to  have  no  favourites  about 
them. 

The  King,  yielding  to  this  man's  persuasions,  spoke 
of  it  to  my  husband,  who  observed  that  it  would  be  a 
matter  that  would  greatly  distress  me ;  that  if  I  had 
an  esteem  for  Torigni  it  was  not  without  cause,  as  she 
had  been  brought  up  with  the  Queen  of  Spain  and 
me  from  our  infancy ;  that,  moreover,  Torigni  was  a 
young  lady  of  good  understanding,  and  had  been  of 
great  use  to  him  during  his  cofinnement  at  Yincennes ; 
that  it  would  be  the  greatest  ingratitude  in  him  to 
overlook  services  of  such  a  nature,  and  that  he  remem- 
bered well  when  his  Majesty  had  expressed  the  same 
sentiments. 

Thus  did  he  defend  himself  against  the  performance 
of  so  ungrateful  an  action.  However,  the  King  lis- 
tened only  to  the  arguments  of  Le  Guast,  and  told 
my  husband  that  he  should  have  no  more  love  for 
him  if  he  did  not  remove  Torigni  from  about  me  the 
very  next  morning. 

He  was  forced  to  comply,  greatly  contrary  to  his 
will,  and,  as  he  has  since  declared  to  me,  with  much 
regret.  Joining  entreaties  to  commands,  he  laid  his 
injunctions  on  me  accordingly. 

How  displeasing  this  separation  was  I  plainly  dis- 
covered by  the  many  tears  I  shed  on  receiving  his 
orders.  It  was  in  vain  to  represent  to  him  the  injury 
done  to  my  character  by  the  sudden  removal  of  one 


MARGUERITE   DE   VALOIS.  95 

who  had  been  with  me  from  my  earliest  years,  and 
was  so  greatly  in  my  esteem  and  confidence ;  he  could 
not  give  an  ear  to  my  reasons,  being  firmly  bound  by 
the  promise  he  had  made  to  the  King. 

Accordingly,  Torigni  left  me  that  very  day,  and 
went  to  the  house  of  a  relation,  M.  Chastelas.  I  was 
so  greatly  offended  with  this  fresh  indignity,  after  so 
many  of  the  kind  formerly  received,  that  I  could  not 
help  yielding  to  resentment;  and  my  grief  and  con- 
cern getting  the  upper  hand  of  my  prudence,  I  exhib- 
ited a  great  coolness  and  indifference  towards  my 
husband.  Le  Guast  and  Madame  de  Sauves  were 
successful  in  creating  a  like  indifference  on  his  part, 
which,  coinciding  with  mine,  separated  us  altogether, 
and  we  neither  spoke  to  each  other  nor  slept  in  the 
same  bed. 

A  few  days  after  this,  some  faithful  servants  about 
the  person  of  the  King  my  husband  remarked  to  him 
the  plot  which  had  been  concerted  with  so  much  arti- 
fice to  lead  him  to  his  ruin,  by  creating  a  division, 
fi.rst  betwixt  him  and  my  brother,  and  next  betwixt 
him  and  me,  thereby  separating  him  from  those  in 
whom  only  he  could  hope  for  his  principal  support. 
They  observed  to  him  that  already  matters  were 
brought  to  such  a  pass  that  the  King  showed  little 
regard  for  him,  and  even  appeared  to  despise  him. 

They  afterwards  addressed  themselves  to  my 
brother,  whose  situation  was  not  in  the  least  mended 


96  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

since  the  departure  of  Bussi,  Le  Guast  causing  fresh 
indignities  to  be  offered  him  daily.  They  represented 
to  him  that  the  King  my  husband  and  he  were  both 
circumstanced  alike,  and  equally  in  disgrace,  as  Le 
Guast  had  everything  under  his  direction;  so  that 
both  of  them  were  under  the  necessity  of  soliciting, 
through  him,  any  favours  which  they  might  want 
of  the  King,  and  which,  when  demanded,  were  con- 
stantly refused  them  with  great  contempt.  Moreover, 
it  was  become  dangerous  to  offer  them  service,  as  it 
was  inevitable  ruin  for  any  one  to  do  so. 

"  Since,  then,"  said  they,  "  your  dissensions  appear 
to  be  so  likely  to  prove  fatal  to  both,  it  would  be 
advisable  in  you  both  to  unite  and  come  to  a  deter- 
mination of  leaving  the  Court;  and,  after  collecting 
together  your  friends  and  servants,  to  require  from 
the  King  an  establishment  suitable  to  your  ranks." 
They  observed  to  my  brother  that  he  had  never  yet 
been  put  in  possession  of  his  appanage,  and  received 
for  his  subsistence  only  some  certain  allowances,  which 
were  not  regularly  paid  him,  as  they  passed  through 
the  hands  of  Le  Guast,  and  were  at  his  disposal,  to 
be  discharged  or  kept  back,  as  he  judged  proper. 
They  concluded  with  observing  that,  with  regard  to 
the  King  my  husband,  the  government  of  Guyenne 
was  taken  out  of  his  hands ;  neither  was  he  permitted 
to  visit  that  or  any  other  of  his  dominions. 

It  was  hereupon  resolved  to  pursue  the  counsel  now 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS:  97 

given,  and  that  the  King  my  husband  and  my  brother 
should  immediately  withdraw  themselves  from  Court. 
My  brother  made  me  acquainted  with  this  resolution, 
observing  to  me,  as  my  husband  and  he  were  now 
friends  again,  that  I  ought  to  forget  all  that  had 
passed ;  that  my  husband  had  declared  to  him  that 
he  was  sorry  things  had  so  happened,  that  we  had 
been  outwitted  by  our  enemies,  but  that  he  was  re- 
solved, from  henceforward,  to  show  me  every  atten- 
tion and  give  me  every  proof  of  his  love  and  esteem, 
and  he  concluded  with  begging  me  to  make  my  hus- 
band every  show  of  affection,  and  to  be  watchful  for 
their  interest  during  their  absence. 

It  was  concerted  betwixt  them  that  my  brother 
should  depart  first,  making  off  in  a  carriage  in  the 
best  manner  he  could ;  that,  in  a  few  days  afterwards, 
the  King  my  husband  should  follow,  under  pretence 
of  going  on  a  hunting  party.  They  both  expressed 
their  concern  that  they  could  not  take  me  with  them, 
assuring  me  that  I  had  no  occasion  to  have  any  appre- 
hensions, as  it  would  soon  appear  that  they  had  no 
design  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  kingdom,  but 
merely  to  ensure  the  safety  of  their  own  persons,  and 
to  settle  their  establishments.  In  short,  it  might  well 
be  supposed  that,  in  their  present  situation,  they  had 
reason  to  apprehend  danger  to  themselves  from  such 
as  had  evil  designs  against  their  family. 

Accordingly,  as  soon  as  it  was  dusk,  and  before 


98  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

the  King's  supper-time,  mj  brother  changed  his  cloak, 
and  concealing  the  lower  part  of  his  face  to  his  nose 
in  it,  left  the  palace,  attended  by  a  servant  who  was 
little  known,  and  went  on  foot  to  the  gate  of  St.  Ho- 
nor^, where  he  found  Simier  waiting  for  him  in  a 
coach,  borrowed  of  a  lady  for  the  purpose. 

My  brother  threw  himself  into  it,  and  went  to  a 
house  about  a  quarter  of  a  league  out  of  Paris,  where 
horses  were  stationed  ready ;  and  at  the  distance  of 
about  a  league  farther,  he  joined  a  party  of  two  or 
three  hundred  horsemen  of  his  servants,  who  were 
awaiting  his  coming.  My  brother  was  not  missed  till 
nine  o'clock,  when  the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother 
asked  me  the  reason  he  did  not  come  to  sup  with 
them  as  usual,  and  if  I  knew  of  his  being  indisposed. 
I  told  them  I  had  not  seen  him  since  noon.  There- 
upon they  sent  to  his  apartments.  Word  was  brought 
back  that  he  was  not  there.  Orders  were  then  given 
to  inquire  at  the  apartments  of  the  ladies  whom  he 
was  accustomed  to  ^dsit.  He  was  nowhere  to  be 
found.  There  was  now  a  general  alarm.  The  King 
flew  into  a  great  passion,  and  began  to  threaten  me. 
He  then  sent  for  all  the  Princes  and  the  great  officers 
of  the  Court;  and  giving  orders  for  a  pursuit  to  be 
made,  and  to  bring  him  back,  dead  or  alive,  cried  out : 
"  He  is  gone  to  make  war  against  me ;  but  I  will 
show  him  what  it  is  to  contend  with  a  king  of  my 
power." 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  9^ 

Many  of  the  Princes  and  officers  of  State  remon- 
strated against  these  orders,  which  they  observed 
ought  to  be  well  weighed.  They  said  that,  as  their 
duty  directed,  they  were  willing  to  venture  their  lives 
in  the  King's  service ;  but  to  act  against  his  brother 
they  were  certain  would  not  be  pleasing  to  the  King 
himself;  that  they  were  well  convinced  his  brother 
would  undertake  nothing  that  should  give  his  Majesty 
displeasure,  or  be  productive  of  danger  to  the  realm ; 
that  perhaps  his  leaving  the  Court  was  owing  to  some 
disgust,  which  it  would  be  more  advisable  to  send 
and  inquire  into.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  were  for 
putting  the  King's  orders  into  execution ;  but,  whatever 
expedition  they  could  use,  it  was  day  before  they  set 
off ;  and  as  it  was  then  too  late  to  overtake  my  brother, 
they  returned,  being  only  equipped  for  the  pursuit. 

I  was  in  tears  the  whole  night  of  my  brother's 
departure,  and  the  next  day  was  seized  with  a  vio- 
lent cold,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  fever  that  con- 
fined me  to  my  bed. 

Meanwhile  my  husband  was  preparing  for  his  de- 
parture, which  took  up  all  the  time  he  could  spare 
from  his  visits  to  Madame  de  Sauves;  so  that  he 
did  not  think  of  me.  -He  returned  as  usual  at  two 
or .  three  in  the  morning,  and,  as  we  had  separate 
beds,  I  seldom  heard  him ;  and  in  the  morning,  be- 
fore I  was  awake,  he  went  to  my  mother's  levde, 
where  he  met  Madame  de  Sauves,  as  usual. 


100  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

This  being  the  case,  he  quite  forgot  his  promise  to 
my  brother  of  speaking  to  me ;  and  when  he  went 
away,  it  was  without  taking  leave  of  me. 

The  King  did  not  show  my  husband  more  favour 
after  my  brother's  evasion,  but  continued  to  behave 
with  his  former  coolness.  This  the  more  confirmed 
him  in  the  resolution  of  leaving  the  Court,  so  that 
in  a  few  days,  under  the  pretence  of  hunting,  he 
went  away. 


LETTER  XI. 

Queen  Marguerite  under  Arrest.  —  Attempt  on  Torigni's  Life. 
— Her  Fortunate  Deliverance. 

The  King,  supposing  that  I  was  a  principal  instru- 
ment in  aiding  the  Princes  in  their  desertion,  was 
greatly  incensed  against  me,  and  his  rage  became  at 
length  so  violent  that,  had  not  the  Queen  my  mother 
moderated  it,  I  am  inclined  to  think  my  life  had  been 
in  danger.  Giving  way  to  her  counsel,  he  became 
more  calm,  but  insisted  upon  a  guard  being  placed 
over  me,  that  I  might  not  follow  the  King  my  hus- 
band, neither  have  communication  with  any  one,  so 
as  to  give  the  Princes  intelligence  of  what  was  going 
on  at  Court.  The  Queen  my  mother  gave  her  con- 
sent to  this  measure,  as  being  the  least  violent,  and 
was  well  pleased  to  find  his  anger  cooled  in  so  great 
a  degree.  She,  however,  requested  that  she  might  be 
permitted  to  discourse  with  me,  in  order  to  reconcile 
me  to  a  submission  to  treatment  of  so  different  a  kind 
from  what  I  had  hitherto  known.  At  the  same  time 
she  advised  the  King  to  consider  that  these  troubles 
might  not  be  lasting;  that  everything  in  the  world 
bore  a  double  aspect;  that  what  now  appeared  to 


102  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

him  horrible  and  alarming,  might,  upon  a  second 
view,  assume  a  more  pleasing  and  tranquil  look; 
that,  as  things  changed,  so  should  measures  change 
with  them ;  that  there  might  come  a  time  when  he 
might  have  occasion  for  my  services;  that,  as  pru- 
dence counselled  us  not  to  repose  too  much  confidence 
in  our  friends,  lest  they  should  one  day  become  our 
enemies,  so  was  it  advisable  to  conduct  ourselves  in 
such  a  manner  to  our  enemies  as  if  we  had  hopes 
they  should  hereafter  become  our  friends.  By  such 
prudent  remonstrances  did  the  Queen  my  mother  re- 
strain the  King  from  proceeding  to  extremities  with 
me,  as  he  would  otherwise  possibly  have  done. 

Le  Guast  now  endeavoured  to  divert  his  fury  to  an- 
other object,  in  order  to  wound  me  in  a  most  sensitive 
part.  He  prevailed  on  the  King  to  adopt  a  design  for 
seizing  Torigni,  at  the  house  of  her  cousin  Chastelas, 
and,  under  pretence  of  bringing  her  before  the  King, 
to  drown  her  in  a  river  which  they  were  to  cross. 
The  party  sent  upon  this  errand  was  admitted  by 
Chastelas,  not  suspecting  any  evil  design,  without  the 
least  difficulty,  into  his  house.  As  soon  as  they  had 
gained  admission  they  proceeded  to  execute  the  cruel 
business  they  were  sent  upon,  by  fastening  Torigni 
with  cords  and  locking  her  up  in  a  chamber,  whilst 
their  horses  were  baiting.  Meantime,  according  to 
the  French  custom,  they  crammed  themselves,  like 
gluttons,  with  the  best  eatables  the  house  afforded. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  103 

Chastelas,  who  was  a  man  of  discretion,  was  not  dis- 
pleased to  gain  time  at  the  expense  of  some  part  of 
his  substance,  considering  that  the  suspension  of  a 
sentence  is  a  prolongation  of  life,  and  that  during  this 
respite  the  King's  heart  might  relent,  and  he  might 
countermand  his  former  orders.  With  these  consid- 
erations he  was  induced  to  submit,  though  it  was  in 
his  power  to  have  called  for  assistance  to  repel  this 
violence.  But  God,  who  hath  constantly  regarded 
my  afflictions  and  afforded  me  protection  against  the 
malicious  designs  of  my  enemies,  was  pleased  to  order 
poor  Torigni  to  be  delivered  by  means  which  I  could 
never  have  devised  had  I  been  acquainted  with  the 
plot,  of  which  I  was  totally  ignorant.  Several  of 
the  domestics,  male  as  well  as  female,  had  left  the 
house  in  a  fright,  fearing  the  insolence  and  rude  treat- 
ment of  this  troop  of  soldiers,  who  behaved  as  riot- 
ously as  if  they  were  in  a  house  given  up  to  pillage. 
Some  of  these,  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  the  house,  by  God's  providence,  fell  in  with 
Fert^  and  Avantigni,  at  the  head  of  their  troops,  in 
number  about  two  hundred  horse,  on  their  march  to 
join  my  brother.  Ferte,  remarking  a  labourer,  whcnn 
he  knew  to  belong  to  Chastelas,  apparently  in  great 
distress,  inquired  of  him  what  was  the  matter,  and 
whether  he  had  been  ill-used  by  any  of  the  soldiery. 
The  man  related  to  him  all  he  knew,  and  in  what 
state  he  had  left  his  master's  house.     Hereupon  Fert^ 


104  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

and  Avantigni  resolved,  out  of  regard  to  me,  to  effect 
Torigni's  deliverance,  returning  thanks  to  God  for 
having  afforded  them  so  favourable  an  opportunity 
of  testifying  the  respect  they  had  always  entertained 
towards  me. 

Accordingly,  they  proceeded  to  the  house  with  all 
expedition,  and  arrived  just  at  the  moment  these  sol- 
diers were  setting  Torigni  on  horseback,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conveying  her  to  the  river  wherein  they  had 
orders  to  plunge  her.  Galloping  into  the  courtyard, 
sword  in  hand,  they  cried  out :  "  Assassins,  if  you 
dare  to  offer  that  lady  the  least  injury,  you  are  dead 
men !  "  So  saying,  they  attacked  them  and  drove 
them  to  flight,  leaving  their  prisoner  behind,  nearly 
as  dead  with  joy  as  she  was  before  with  fear  and  ap- 
prehension. After  returning  thanks  to  God  and  her 
deliverers  for  so  opportune  and  unexpected  a  rescue, 
she  and  her  cousin  Chastelas  set  off  in  a  carriage, 
under  the  escort  of  their  rescuers,  and  joined  my 
brother,  who,  since  he  could  not  have  me  with  him, 
was  happy  to  have  one  so  dear  to  me  about  him.  She 
remained  under  my  brother's  protection  as  long  as 
any  danger  was  apprehended,  and  was  treated  with  as 
much  respect  as  if  she  had  been  with  me. 

Whilst  the  King  was  giving  directions  for  this 
notable  expedition,  for  the  purpose  of  sacrificing 
Torigni  to  his  vengeance,  the  Queen  my  mother, 
who   had   not   received   the   least   intimation    of   it. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  105 

came  to  my  apartment  as  I  was  dressing  to  go 
abroad,  in  order  to  observe  how  I  should  be  received 
after  what  had  passed  at  Court,  having  still  some 
alarms  on  account  of  my  husband  and  brother.  I 
had  hitherto  confined  myself  to  my  chamber,  not 
having  perfectly  recovered  my  health,  and,  in  reality, 
being  all  the  time  as  much  indisposed  in  mind  as  in 
body. 

My  mother,  perceiving  my  intention,  addressed  me 
in  these  words :  "  My  child,  you  are  giving  yourself 
minecessary  trouble  in  dressing  to  go  abroad.  Do 
not  be  alarmed  at  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you.  Your 
own  good  sense  will  dictate  to  you  that  you  ought  not 
to  be  surprised  if  the  King  resents  the  conduct  of  your 
brother  and  husband,  and  as  he  knows  the  love  and 
friendship  that  exist  between  you  three,  should  sup- 
pose hat  you  were  privy  to  their  design  of  leaving  the 
Court.  He  has,  for  this  reason,  resolved  to  detain 
you  in  it,  as  a  hostage  for  them.  He  is  sensible  how 
much  you  are  beloved  by  your  husband,  and  thinks  he 
can  hold  no  pledge  that  is  more  dear  to  him.  On  this 
account  it  is  that  the  King  has  ordered  his  guards  to 
be  placed,  with  directions  not  to  suffer  you  to  leave 
your  apartments.  He  has  done  this  with  the  advice 
of  his  counsellors,  by  whom  it  was  suggested  that,  if 
you  had  your  free  liberty,  you  might  be  induced  to 
advise  your  brother  and  husband  of  their  delibera- 
tions.    I  beg  you  will  not  be  offended  with  these 


106  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

measures,  which,  if  it  so  please  God,  may  not  be  of 
long  continuance.  I  beg,  moreover,  you  will  not  be 
displeased  with  me  if  I  do  not  pay  you  frequent  visits, 
as  I  should  be  unwilling  to  create  any  suspicions  in 
the  King's  mind.  However,  you  may  rest  assured 
that  I  shall  prevent  any  further  steps  from  being 
taken  that  may  prove  disagreeable  to  you,  and  that 
I  shall  use  my  utmost  endeavours  to  bring  about  a 
reconciliation  betwixt  your  brothers." 

I  represented  to  her,  in  reply,  the  great  indignity 
that  was  offered  to  me  by  putting  me  under  arrest; 
that  it  was  true  my  brother  had  all  along  communi- 
cated to  me  the  just  cause  he  had  to  be  dissatisfied, 
but  that,  with  respect  to  the  King  my  husband,  from 
the  time  Torigni  was  taken  from  me  we  had  not 
spoken  to  each  other ;  neither  had  he  visited  me  dur- 
ing my  indisposition,  nor  did  he  even  take  leave  of  me 
when  he  left  Court.  "  This,"  says  she,  "  is  nothing  at 
all ;  it  is  merely  a  trifling  difference  betwixt  man  and 
wife,  which  a  few  sweet  words,  conveyed  in  a  letter, 
will  set  to  rights.  When,  by  such  means,  he  has 
regained  your  affections,  he  has  only  to  write  to  you 
to  come  to  him,  and  you  will  set  off  at  the  very  first 
opportunity.  Now,  this  is  what  the  King  my  son 
wishes  to  prevent." 


LETTER   XII. 

The  Peace  of  Sens  betwixt  Henri  III.  and  the  Huguenots. 

The  Queen  my  mother  left  me,  saying  these  words. 
For  my  part,  I  remained  a  close  prisoner,  without 
a  visit  from  a  single  person,  none  of  my  most  intimate 
friends  daring  to  come  near  me,  through  the  appre- 
hension that  such  a  step  might  prove  injurious  to  their 
interests.  Thus  it  is  ever  in  Courts.  Adversity  is 
solitary,  while  prosperity  dwells  in  a  crowd ;  the  object 
of  persecution  being  sure  to  be  shunned  by  his  nearest 
friends  and  dearest  connections.  The  brave  Grillon 
was  the  only  one  who  ventured  to  visit  me,  at  the 
hazard  of  incurring  disgrace.  He  came  five  or  six 
times  to  see  me,  and  my  guards  were  so  much  aston- 
ished at  his  resolution,  and  awed  by  his  presence,  that 
not  a  single  Cerberus  of  them  all  would  venture  to 
refuse  him  entrance  to  my  apartments. 

Meanwhile,  the  King  my  husband  reached  the 
States  under  his  government.  Being  joined  there  by 
his  friends  and  dependents,  they  all  represented  to  him 
the  indignity  offered  to  me  by  his  quitting  the  Court 
without  taking  leave  of  me.     They  observed  to  him 


108  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  I  was  a  princess  of  good  understanding,  and  that 
it  would  be  for  his  interest  to  regain  my  esteem ;  that, 
when  matters  were  put  on  their  former  footing,  he 
might  derive  to  himself  great  advantage  from  my 
presence  at  Court.  Now  that  he  was  at  a  distance 
from  his  Circe,  Madame  de  Sauves,  he  could  listen  to 
good  advice.  Absence  having  abated  the  force  of  her 
charms,  his  eyes  were  opened ;  he  discovered  the  plots 
and  machinations  of  our  enemies,  and  clearly  perceived 
that  a  rupture  could  not  but  tend  to  the  ruin  of  us 
both. 

Accordingly,  he  wrote  me  a  very  affectionate  letter, 
wherein  he  entreated  me  to  forget  all  that  had  passed 
betwixt  us,  assuring  me  that  from  thenceforth  he 
would  ever  love  me,  and  would  give  me  every  dem- 
onstration that  he  did  so,  desiring  me  to  inform  him 
of  what  was  going  on  at  Court,  and  how  it  fared  with 
me  and  my  brother.  My  brother  was  in  Champagne 
and  the  King  my  husband  in  Gascony,  and  there  had 
been  no  communication  betwixt  them,  though  they 
were  on  terms  of  friendship. 

I  received  this  letter  during  my  imprisonment,  and 
it  gave  me  great  comfort  under  that  situation.  Al- 
though my  guards  had  strict  orders  not  to  permit  me 
to  set  pen  to  paper,  yet,  as  necessity  is  said  to  be  the 
mother  of  invention,  I  found  means  to  write  many 
letters  to  him. 

Some  few  days  after  I  had  been  put  under  arrest. 


MARGUERITE    DE   V ALOIS.  109 

my  brother  had  intelligence  of  it,  which  chagrined 
him  so  much  that,  had  not  the  love  of  his  country 
prevailed  with  him,  the  effects  of  his  resentment 
would  have  been  shown  in  a  cruel  civil  war,  to  which 
purpose  he  had  a  sufficient  force  entirely  at  his  de- 
votion. He  was,  however,  withheld  by  his  patriotism, 
and  contented  himself  with  writing  to  the  Queen  my 
mother,  informing  her  that,  if  I  was  thus  treated,  he 
should  be  driven  upon  some  desperate  measure.  She, 
fearing  the  consequence  of  an  open  rupture,  and 
dreading  lest,  if  blows  were  once  struck,  she  should  be 
deprived  of  the  power  of  bringing  about  r.  reconcil- 
iation betwixt  the  brothers,  represented  the  conse- 
quences to  the  King,  and  found  him  well  disposed  to 
lend  an  ear  to  her  reasons,  as  his  anger  was  now 
cooled  by  the  apprehensions  of  being  attacked  in 
Gascony,  Dauphiny,  Languedoc,  and  Poitou,  with  all 
the  strength  of  the  Huguenots  under  the  King  my 
husband. 

Besides  the  many  strong  places  held  by  the  Hugue- 
nots, my  brother  had  an  army  with  him  in  Champagne, 
composed  chiefly  of  nobility,  the  bravest  and  best  in 
France.  The  King  found,  since  my  brother's  de- 
parture, that  he  could  not,  either  by  threats  or  re- 
wards, induce  a  single  person  among  the  princes  and 
great  lords  to  act  against  him,  so  much  did  every  one 
fear  to  intermeddle  in  this  quarrel,  which  they  con- 
sidered as  of  a  family  nature ;  and  after  having  ma- 


110  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

turely  reflected  on  his  situation,  he  acquiesced  in  my 
mother's  opinion,  and  begged  her  to  fall  upon  some 
means  of  reconciliation.  She  thereupon  proposed  go- 
ing to  my  brother  and  taking  me  with  her.  To  the 
measure  of  taking  me,  the  King  had  an  objection,  as 
he  considered  me  as  the  hostage  for  my  husband  and 
brother.  She  then  agreed  to  leave  me  behind,  and 
set  off  without  my  knowledge  of  the  matter.  At 
their  interview,  my  brother  represented  to  the  Queen 
my  mother  that  he  could  not  but  be  greatly  dissatis- 
fied with  the  King  after  the  many  mortifications  he 
had  received  at  Court ;  that  the  cruelty  and  injustice 
of  confining  me  hurt  him  equally  as  if  done  to  him- 
self ;  observing,  moreover,  that,  as  if  my  arrest  were 
not  a  sufficient  mortification,  poor  Torigni  must  be 
made  to  suffer ;  and  concluding  with  the  declaration 
of  his  firm  resolution  not  to  listen  to  any  terms  of 
peace  until  I  was  restored  to  my  liberty,  and  i-epara- 
tion  made  me  for  the  indignity  I  had  sustained.  The 
Queen  my  mother  being  unable  to  obtain  any  other 
answer,  returned  to  Court  and  acquainted  the  King 
with  my  brother's  determination.  Her  advice  was  to 
go  back  again  with  me,  for  going  without  me,  she 
said,  would  answer  very  little  purpose ;  and  if  I  went 
with  her  in  disgust,  it  would  do  more  harm  than 
good.  Besides,  there  was  reason  to  fear,  in  that  case, 
I  should  insist  upon  going  to  my  husband.  "  In 
short,"  says  she,  "  my  daughter's  guard  must  be  re- 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  Ill 

moved,  and  she  must  be  satisfied  in  the  best  way  we 
can." 

The  King  agreed  to  follow  her  advice,  and  was 
now,  on  a  sudden,  as  eager  to  reconcile  matters  be- 
twixt us  as  she  was  herself.  Hereupon  I  was  sent 
for,  and  when  I  came  to  her,  she  informed  me  that 
she  had  paved  the  way  for  peace  ;  that  it  was  for  the 
good  of  the  State,  which  she  was  sensible  I  must  be 
as  desirous  to  promote  as  my  brother ;  that  she  had 
it  now  in  her  power  to  make  a  peace  which  would  be 
as  satisfactory  as  my  brother  could  desire,  and  would 
put  us  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  Le  Guast's  machi- 
nations, or  those  of  any  one  else  who  might  have  an 
influence  over  the  King's  mind.  She  observed  that, 
by  assisting  her  to  procure  a  good  understanding  be- 
twixt the  King  and  my  brother,  I  should  relieve  her 
from  that  cruel  disquietude  under  which  she  at  pres- 
ent laboured,  as,  shcTuld  things  come  to  an  open 
rupture,  she  could  not  but  be  grieved,  whichever 
party  prevailed,  as  they  were  both  her  sons.  She 
therefore  expressed  her  hopes  that  I  would  forget  the 
injuries  I  had  received,  and  dispose  myself  to  concur 
in  a  peace,  rather  than  join  in  any  plan  of  revenge. 
She  assured  me  that  the  King  was  sorry  for  what  had 
happened ;  that  he  had  even  expressed  his  regret  to 
her  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  had  declared  that  he 
was  ready  to  give  me  every  satisfaction.  I  replied 
that  I  was  willing  to  sacrifice  everything  for  the  good 


112  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

of  my  brothers  and  of  the  State ;  that  I  wished  for 
nothing  so  much  as  peace,  and  that  I  would  exert 
myself  to  the  utmost  to  bring  it  about. 

As  I  uttered  these  words,  the  King  came  into  the 
closet,  and,  with  a  number  of  fine  speeches,  endeav- 
oured to  soften  my  resentment  and  to  recover  my 
friendship,  to  which  I  made  such  returns  as  might 
show  him  I  harboured  no  ill-will  for  the  injuries  I 
had  received.  I  was  induced  to  such  behaviour  rather 
out  of  contempt,  and  because  it  was  good  policy  to  let 
the  King  go  away  satisfied  with  me. 

Besides,  I  had  found  a  secret  pleasure,  during  my 
confinement,  from  the  perusal  of  good  books,  to  which 
I  had  given  myself  up  with  a  delight  I  never  before 
experienced.  I  consider  this  as  an  obligation  I  owe 
to  fortune,  or,  rather,  to  Divine  Providence,  in  order 
to  prepare  me,  by  such  efficacious  means,  to  bear  up 
against  the  misfortunes  and  calamities  that  awaited 
me.  By  tracing  nature  in  the  universal  book  which 
is  opened  to  all  mankind,  I  was  led  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  Divine  Author.  Science  conducts  us,  step  by  step, 
through  the  whole  range  of  creation,  until  we  arrive, 
at  length,  at  God.  Misfortune  prompts  us  to  summon 
our  utmost  strength  to  oppose  grief  and  recover  tran- 
quillity, until  at  length  we  find  a  powerful  aid  in  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God,  whilst  prosperity  hurries 
us  away  until  we  are  overwhelmed  by  our  passions. 
My  captivity  and  its  consequent  solitude  afforded  me 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  113 

the  double  advantage  of  exciting  a  passion  for  study, 
and  an  inclination  for  devotion,  advantages  I  had 
never  experienced  during  the  vanities  and  splendour 
of  my  prosperity. 

As  I  have  already  observed,  the  King,  discovering 
in  me  no  signs  of  discontent,  informed  me  that  the 
Queen, my  mother  was  going  into  Champagne  to  have 
an  interview  with  my  brother,  in  order  to  bring  about 
a  peace,  and  begged  me  to  accompany  her  thither 
and  to  use  my  best  endeavours  to  forward  his  views, 
as  he  knew  my  brother  was  always  well  disposed  to 
follow  my  counsel ;  and  he  concluded  with  saying 
that  the  peace,  when  accomplished,  he  should  ever 
consider  as  being  due  to  my  good  offices,  and  should 
esteem  himself  obliged  to  me  for  it.  I  promised  to 
exert  myself  in  so  good  a  work,  which  I  plainly  per- 
ceived was  both  for  my  brother's  advantage  and  the 
benefit  of  the  State. 

The  Queen  my  mother  and  I  set  off  for  Sens  the  next 
day.  The  conference  was  agreed  to  be  held  in  a  gentle- 
man's ch£iteau,  at  a  distance  of  about  a  league  from  that 
place.  My  brother  was  waiting  for  us,  accompanied 
by  a  small  body  of  troops  and  the  principal  Catholic 
noblemen  and  princes  of  his  army.  Amongst  these 
were  the  Due  Casimir  and  Colonel  Poux,  who  had 
brought  him  six  thousand  German  horse,  raised  by  the 
Huguenots,  they  having  joined  my  brother,  as  the  King 
my  husband  and  he  acted  in  conjunction. 


114  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  treaty  was  continued  for  several  days,  the  con- 
ditions of  peace  requiring  much  discussion,  especially 
such  articles  of  it  as  related  to  religion.  With  respect 
to  these,  when  at  length  agreed  upon,  they  were  too 
much  to  the  advantage  of  the  Huguenots,  as  it  ap- 
peared afterwards,  to  be  kept ;  but  the  Queen  my 
mother  gave  in  to  them,  in  order  to  have  a  peace,  and 
that  the  German  cavalry  before  mentioned  might  be 
disbanded.  She  was,  moreover,  desirous  to  get  my 
brother  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Huguenots ;  and  he 
was  himself  as  willing  to  leave  them,  being  always  a 
very  good  Catholic,  and  joining  the  Huguenots  only 
through  necessity. 

One  condition  of  the  peace  was,  that  my  brother 
should  have  a  suitable  establishment.  My  brother 
likewise  stipulated  for  me,  that  my  marriage  portion 
should  be  assigned  in  lands,  and  M.  de  Beauvais, 
a  commissioner  on  his  part,  insisted  much  upon 
it.  My  mother,  however,  opposed  it,  and  persuaded 
me  to  join  her  in  it,  assuring  me  that  1  should  ob- 
tain from  the  King  all  I  could  require.  Thereupon 
I  begged  I  might  not  be  included  in  the  articles 
of  peace,  observing  that  I  would  rather  owe  what- 
ever I  was  to  receive  to  the  particular  favour  of 
the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  should, 
besides,  consider  it  as  more  secure  when  obtained 
by  such  means. 

The  peace  being  thus  concluded   and   ratified   on 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  115 

both  sides,  the  Queen  my  mother  prepared  to  return. 
At  this  instant  I  received  letters  from  the  King  my 
husband,  in  which  he  expressed  a  great  desire  to  see 
me,  begging  me,  as  soon  as  peace  was  agreed  on,  to 
ask  leave  to  go  to  him.  I  commmiicated  my  husband's 
wish  to  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  added  my  own 
entreaties.  She  expressed  herself  greatly  averse  to 
such  a  measure,  and  used  every  argument  to  set  me 
against  it.  She  observed  that,  when  I  refused  her 
proposal  of  a  divorce  after  St.  Bartholomew's  Day, 
she  gave  way  to  my  refusal,  and  commended  me  for 
it,  because  my  husband  was  then  converted  to  the 
Catholic  religion ;  but  now  that  he  had  abjured 
Catholicism,  and  was  turned  Huguenot  again,  she 
could  not  give  her  consent  that  I  should  go  to  him. 
When  I  still  insisted  upon  going,  she  burst  into  a 
flood  of  tears,  and  said,  if  I  did  not  return  with  her,  it 
would  prove  her  ruin ;  that  the  King  would  believe 
it  was  her  doing  ;  that  she  had  promised  to  bring  me 
back  with  her ;  and  that,  when  my  brother  returned 
to  Court,  which  would  be  soon,  she  would  give  her 
consent. 

We  now  returned  to  Paris,  and  found  the  King  well 
satisfied  that  we  had  made  a  peace  ;  though  not,  how- 
ever, pleased  with  the  articles  concluded  in  favour  of 
the  Huguenots.  He  therefore  resolved  within  himself, 
as  soon  as  my  brother  should  return  to  Court,  to  find 
some  pretext  for  renewing  the  war.     These   advan- 


116  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

tageous  conditions  were,  indeed,  only  granted  the 
Huguenots  to  get  my  brother  out  of  their  hands, 
who  was  detained  near  two  months,  being  employed 
in  disbanding  his  German  horse  and  the  rest  of  his 
army. 


LETTER  Xm. 

The    League War    Declared   against    the    Huguenots.  — 

Queen  Marguerite  Sets  out  for  Spa. 

At  length  my  brother  returned  to  Court,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  Catholic  nobility  who  had  followed 
his  fortunes.  The  King  received  him  very  graciously, 
and  showed,  by  his  reception  of  him,  how  much  he 
was  pleased  at  his  return.  Bussi,  who  returned  with 
my  brother,  met  likewise  with  a  gracious  reception. 
Le  Guast  was  now  no  more,  having  died  under  the 
operation  of  a  particular  regimen  ordered  for  him  by 
his  physician.  He  had  given  himself  up  to  every  kind 
of  debauchery ;  and  his  death  seemed  the  judgment  of 
the  Almighty  on  one  whose  body  had  long  been  per- 
ishing, and  whose  soul  had  been  made  over  to  the 
prince  of  demons  as  the  price  of  assistance  through 
the  means  of  diabolical  magic,  which  he  constantly 
practised.  The  King,  though  now  without  this  in- 
strument of  his  malicious  contrivances,  turned  his 
thoughts  entirely  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Hugue- 
nots.    To  effect  this,  he  strove  to  engage  my  brother 


118  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

against  them,  and  thereby  make  them  his  enemies  ; 
and  that  I  might  be  considered  as  another  enemy,  he 
used  every  means  to  prevent  me  from  going  to  the 
King  my  husband.  Accordingly  he  showed  every 
mark  of  attention  to  both  of  us,  and  manifested  an 
inclination  to  gratify  all  our  wishes. 

After  some  time,  M.  de  Duras  arrived  at  Court, 
sent  by  the  King  my  husband  to  hasten  my  departure. 
Hereupon,  I  pressed  the  King  greatly  to  think  well  of 
it,  and  give  me  his  leave.  He,  to  colour  his  refusal, 
told  me  he  could  not  part  with  me  at  present,  as  I 
was  the  chief  ornament  of  his  Court;  that  he  must 
keep  me  a  little  longer,  after  which  he  would  accom- 
pany me  himself  on  my  way  as  far  as  Poitiers.  With 
this  answer  and  assurance,  he  sent  M.  de  Duras  back. 
These  excuses  were  purposely  framed  in  order  to 
gain  time  until  everything  was  prepared  for  declar- 
ing war  against  the  Huguenots,  and,  in  consequence, 
against  the  King  my  husband,  as  he  fully  designed 
to  do. 

As  a  pretence  to  break  with  the  Huguenots,  a  report 
was  spread  abroad  that  the  Catholics  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  Peace  of  Sens,  and  thought  the  terms  of  it 
too  advantageous  for  the  Huguenots.  This  rumour 
succeeded,  and  produced  all  that  discontent  amongst 
the  Catholics  intended  by  it.  A  league  was  formed 
in  the  provinces  and  great  cities,  which  was  joined  by 
numbers  of  the  Catholics.     M.  de  Guise  was  named 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  119 

as  the  head  of  all.  This  was  well  known  to  the 
Kmg,  who  pretended  to  be  ignorant  of  what  was 
going  forward,  though  nothing  else  was  talked  of  at 
Court. 

The  States  were  convened  to  meet  at  Blois.  Pre- 
vious to  the  opening  of  this  assembly,  the  King  called 
my  brother  to  his  closet,  where  were  present  the 
Queen  my  mother  and  some  of  the  King's  counsellors. 
He  represented  the  great  consequence  the  Catholic 
league  was  to  his  State  and  authority,  even  though 
they  should  appoint  De  Guise  as  the  head  of  it ;  that 
such  a  measure  was  of  the  highest  importance  to  them 
both,  meaning  my  brother  and  himself;  that  the 
Catholics  had  very  just  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with 
the  peace,  and  that  it  behoved  him,  addressing  him- 
self to  my  brother,  rather  to  join  the  Catholics  than 
the  Huguenots,  and  this  from  conscience  as  well  as 
interest.  He  concluded  his  address  to  my  brother 
with  conjuring  him,  as  a  son  of  France  and  a  good 
Catholic,  to  assist  him  with  his  aid  and  counsel  in  this 
critical  juncture,  when  his  crown  and  the  Catholic 
religion  were  both  at  stake.  He  further  said  that,  in 
order  to  get  the  start  of  so  formidable  a  league,  he 
ought  to  form  one  himself,  and  become  the  head 
of  it,  as  well  to  show  his  zeal  for  religion  as  to  pre- 
vent the  Catholics  from  imiting  under  any  other 
leader.  He  then  proposed  to  declare  himself  the 
head  of   a  league,  which    should   be   joined  by  my 


120  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

brother,  the  princes,  nobles,  governors,  and  others 
holding  offices  under  the  Government.  Thus  was  my 
brother  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  making  his  Majesty 
a  tender  of  his  services  for  the  support  and  main- 
tenance of  the  Catholic  religion. 

The  King,  having  now  obtained  assurances  of 
my  brother's  assistance  in  the  event  of  a  war,  which 
was  his  sole  view  in  the  league  which  he  had  formed 
with  so  much  art,  assembled  together  the  princes 
and  chief  noblemen  of  his  Court,  and,  calling  for 
the  roll  of  the  league,  signed  it  first  himself,  next 
calling  upon  my  brother  to  sign  it,  and,  lastly,  upon 
all  present. 

The  next  day  the  States  opened  their  meeting, 
when  the  King,  calling  upon  the  Bishops  of  Lyons, 
Ambrune,  Vienne,  and  other  prelates  there  present, 
for  their  advice,  was  told  that,  after  the  oath  taken  at 
his  coronation,  no  oath  made  to  heretics  could  bind 
him,  and  therefore  he  was  absolved  from  his  engage- 
ments with  the  Huguenots. 

This  declaration  being  made  at  the  opening  of  the 
assembly,  and  war  declared  against  the  Huguenots, 
the  King  abruptly  dismissed  from  Court  the  Hugue- 
not, Genisac,  who  had  arrived  a  few  days  before, 
charged  by  the  King  my  husband  with  a  commis- 
sion to  hasten  my  departure.  The  King  very  sharply 
told  him  that  his  sister  had  been  given  to  a  Catho- 
lic, and  not  to  a  Huguenot ;  and  that  if  the  King  my 


MARGUERITE    DE  VALOIS.  121 

husband  expected  to  have  me,  he  must  declare  him- 
self a  Catholic. 

Every  preparation  for  war  was  made,  and  nothing 
else  talked  of  at  Court ;  and,  to  make  my  brother  still 
more  obnoxious  to  the  Huguenots,  he  had  the  com- 
mand of  an  army  given  him.  Genisac  came  and 
informed  me  of  the  rough  message  he  had  been 
dismissed  with.  Hereupon  I  went  directly  to  the 
closet  of  the  Queen  my  mother,  where  I  found  the 
King.  I  expressed  my  resentment  at  being  deceived 
by  him,  and  at  being  cajoled  by  his  promise  to  accom- 
pany me  from  Paris  to  Poitiers,  which,  as  it  now  ap- 
peared, was  a  mere  pretence.  I  represented  that  I  did 
not  marry  by  my  own  choice,  but  entirely  agreeable  to 
the  advice  of  King  Charles,  the  Queen  my  mother, 
and  himself ;  that,  since  they  had  given  him  to  me  for 
a  husband,  they  ought  not  to  hinder  me  from  partak- 
ing of  his  fortunes ;  that  I  was  resolved  to  go  to  him, 
and  that  if  I  had  not  their  leave,  I  would  get  away 
how  I  could,  even  at  the  hazard  of  my  life.  The  King 
answered :  "  Sister,  it  is  not  now  a  time  to  importune 
me  for  leave.  I  acknowledge  that  I  have,  as  you  say, 
hitherto  prevented  you  from  going,  in  order  to  forbid 
it  altogether.  From  the  time  the  King  of  Navarre 
changed  his  religion,  and  again  became  a  Huguenot, 
I  have  been  against  your  going  to  him.  What  the 
Queen  my  mother  and  I  are  doing  is  for  your  good. 
I  am  determined  to  carry  on  a  war  of  extermination 


122  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

until  this  wretched  religion  of  the  Huguenots,  which 
is  of  so  mischievous  a  nature,  is  no  more.  Consider, 
my  sister,  if  you,  who  are  a  Catholic,  were  once  in 
their  hands,  you  would  become  a  hostage  for  me,  and 
prevent  my  design.  And  who  knows  but  they  might 
seek  their  revenge  upon  me  by  taking  away  your  life  ? 
No,  you  shall  not  go  amongst  them ;  and  if  you  leave 
us  in  the  manner  you  have  now  mentioned,  rely  upon 
it  that  you  will  make  the  Queen  your  mother  and  me 
your  bitterest  enemies,  and  that  we  shall  use  every 
means  to  make  you  feel  the  effects  of  our  resentment ; 
and,  moreover,  you  will  make  your  husband's  situa- 
tion worse  instead  of  better." 

I  went  from  this  audience  with  much  dissatisfac- 
tion, and,  taking  advice  of  the  principal  persons  of 
both  sexes  belonging  to  Court  whom  I  esteemed  my 
friends,  I  found  them  all  of  opinion  that  it  would  be 
exceedingly  improper  for  me  to  remain  in  a  Court 
now  at  open  variance  with  the  King  my  husband. 
They  recommended  me  not  to  stay  at  Court  whilst 
the  war  lasted,  saying  it  would  be  more  honourable 
for  me  to  leave  the  kingdom  under  the  pretence  of 
a  pilgrimage,  or  a  visit  to  some  of  my  kindred.  The 
Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon  was  amongst  those  I  con- 
sulted upon  the  occasion,  who  was  on  the  point  of 
setting  off  for  Spa  to  take  the  waters  there. 

My  brother  was  likewise  present  at  the  consultation, 
and  brought  with  him  Mondoucet,  who  had  been  to 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  123 

Flanders  in  quality  of  the  King's  agent,  whence  he 
was  just  returned  to  represent  to  the  King  the  dis- 
content that  had  arisen  amongst  the  Flemings  on 
account  of  infringements  made  by  the  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment on  the  French  laws.  He  stated  that  he  was 
commissioned  by  several  nobles,  and  the  municipalities 
of  several  towns,  to  declare  how  much  they  were  in- 
clined in  their  hearts  towards  France,  and  how  ready 
they  were  to  come  under  a  French  government.  Mon- 
doucet,  perceiving  the  King  not  inclined  to  listen  to 
his  representation,  as  having  his  mind  wholly  occu- 
pied by  the  war  he  had  entered  into  with  the  Hugue- 
nots, whom  he  was  resolved  to  punish  for  having  joined 
my  brother,  had  ceased  to  move  in  it  further  to  the 
King,  and  addressed  himself  on  the  subject  to  my 
brother.  My  brother,  with  that  princely  spirit  which 
led  him  to  undertake  great  achievements,  readily  lent 
an  ear  to  Mondoucet's  proposition,  and  promised  to 
engage  in  it,  for  he  was  born  rather  to  conquer  than 
to  keep  what  he  conquered.  Mondoucet's  proposition 
was  the  more  pleasing  to  him  as  it  was  not  unjust,  — 
it  being,  in  fact,  to  recover  to  France  what  had  been 
usurped  by  Spain. 

Mondoucet  had  now  engaged  himself  in  my  brother's 
service,  and  was  to  return  to  Flanders  under  a  pre- 
tence of  accompanying  the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon 
in  her  journey  to  Spa;  and  as  this  agent  perceived 
my  counsellers  to  be  at  a  loss  for  some  pretence  for 


124  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

my  leaving  Court  and  quitting  France  during  the  war, 
and  that  at  first  Savoy  was  proposed  for  my  retreat, 
then  Lorraine,  and  then  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  he  sug- 
gested to  my  brother  that  I  might  be  of  great  use  to 
him  in  Flanders,  if,  under  the  colour  of  any  complaint, 
I  should  be  recommended  to  ^drink  the  Spa  waters, 
and  go  with  the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon.  My 
brother  acquiesced  in  this  opinion,  and  came  up  to 
me,  saying :  "  Oh,  Queen !  you  need  be  no  longer  at 
a  loss  for  a  place  to  go  to.  I  have  observed  that  you 
have  frequently  an  erysipelas  on  your  arm,  and 
you  must  accompany  the  Princess  to  Spa.  You 
must  say  your  physicians  had  ordered  those  waters 
for  the  complaint;  but  when  they  did  so,  it  was 
not  the  season  to  take  them.  That  season  is  now 
approaching,  and  you  hope  to  have  the  King's  leave 
to  go  there." 

My  brother  did  not  deliver  all  he  wished  to  say  at 
that  time,  because  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  was  pres- 
ent, whom  he  knew  to  be  a  friend  to  the  Guises  and  to 
Spain.  However,  I  saw  through  his  real  design,  and 
that  he  wished  me  to  promote  his  views  in  Flanders. 

The  company  approved  of  my  brother's  advice,  and 
the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon  heard  the  proposal 
with  great  joy,  having  a  great  regard  for  me.  She 
promised  to  attend  me  to  the  Queen  my  mother  when 
I  should  ask  her  consent. 

The  next  day  I  found  the  Queen  alone,  and  repre- 


MARGUERITE    DE   V ALOIS.  125 

sented  to  her  the  extreme  regret  I  experienced  in 
finding  that  a  war  was  inevitable  betwixt  the  King 
my  husband  and  his  Majesty,  and  that  I  must  con- 
tinue in  a  state  of  separation  from  my  husband ;  that, 
as  long  as  the  war  lasted,  it  was  neither  decent  nor 
honourable  for  me  to  stay  at  Court,  where  I  must  be 
in  one  or  other,  or  both,  of  these  cruel  situations : 
either  that  the  King  my  husband  should  believe  that 
I  continued  in  it  out  of  inclination,  and  think  me  de- 
ficient in  the  duty  I  owed  him ;  or  that  his  Majesty 
should  entertain  suspicions  of  my  giving  intelligence  to 
the  King  my  husband.  Either  of  these  cases,  I  ob- 
served, could  not  but  prove  injurious  to  me.  I  there- 
fore prayed  her  not  to  take  it  amiss  if  I  desired  to 
remove  myself  from  Court,  and  from  becoming  so 
impleasantly  situated ;  adding  that  my  physicians  had 
for  some  time  recommended  me  to  take  the  Spa  waters 
for  an  erysipelas  —  to  which  I  had  been  long  sub- 
ject —  on  my  arm  ;  the  season  for  taking  these  waters 
was  now  approaching,  and  that  if  she  approved  of  it, 
I  would  use  the  present  opportunity,  by  which  means 
I  should  be  at  a  distance  from  Court,  and  show  my 
husband  that,  as  I  could  not  be  with  him,  I  was  un- 
willing to  remain  amongst  his  enemies.  I  further 
expressed  my  hopes  that,  through  her  prudence,  a 
peace  might  be  effected  in  a  short  time  betwixt  the 
King  my  husband  and  his  Majesty,  and  that  my  hus- 
band might  be   restored  to  the  favour  he  formerly 


126  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

enjoyed ;  that  whenever  I  learned  the  news  of  so  joy- 
ful an  event,  I  would  renew  my  solicitations  to  be 
permitted  to  go  to  my  husband.  In  the  meantime,  I 
should  hope  for  her  permission  to  have  the  honour  of 
accompanying  the  Princesse  de  Eoche-sur-Yon,  there 
present,  in  her  journey  to  Spa. 

She  approved  of  what  I  proposed,  and  expressed 
her  satisfaction  that  I  had  taken  so  prudent  a  reso- 
lution. She  observed  how  much  she  was  chagrined 
when  she  found  that  the  King,  through  the  evil  per- 
suasions of  the  bishops,  had  resolved  to  break  through 
the  conditions  of  the  last  peace,  which  she  had  con- 
cluded in  his  name.  She  saw  already  the  ill  effects 
of  this  hasty  proceeding,  as  it  had  removed  from  the 
King's  Council  many  of  his  ablest  and  best  servants. 
This  gave  her,  she  said,  much  concern,  as  it  did  like- 
wise to  think  I  could  not  remain  at  Court  without 
offending  my  husband,  or  creating  jealousy  and  sus- 
picion in  the  King's  mind.  This  being  certainly  what 
was  likely  to  be  the  consequence  of  my  staying,  she 
would  advise  the  King  to  give  me  leave  to  set  out  on 
this  journey. 

She  was  as  good  as  her  word,  and  the  King  dis- 
coursed with  me  on  the  subject  without  exhibiting  the 
smallest  resentment.  Indeed,  he  was  well  pleased 
now  that  he  had  prevented  me  from  going  to  the 
King  my  husband,  for  whom  he  had  conceived  the 
greatest  animosity. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  127 

He  ordered  a  courier  to  be  immediately  despatched 
to  Don  John  of  Austria,  —  who  commanded  for  the 
King  of  Spain  in  Flanders,  —  to  obtain  from  him  the 
necessary  passports  for  a  free  passage  in  the  coun- 
tries under  his  command,  as  I  should  be  obliged 
to  cross  a  part  of  Flanders  to  reach  Spa,  which 
is  in  the  bishopric  of  Liege. 

All  matters  being  thus  arranged,  we  separated  in  a 
few  days  after  this  interview.  The  short  time  my 
brother  and  I  remained  together  was  employed  by 
him  in  giving  me  instructions  for  the  commission  I 
had  imdertaken  to  execute  for  him  in  Flanders.  The 
King  and  the  Queen  my  mother  set  out  for  Poitiers, 
to  be  near  the  army  of  M.  de  Mayenne,  then  besieg- 
ing Brouage,  which  place  being  reduced,  it  was  in- 
tended to  march  into  Gascony  and  attack  the  Eang 
my  husband. 

My  brother  had  the  command  of  another  army, 
ordered  to  besiege  Issoire  and  some  other  towns, 
which  he  soon  after  took. 

For  my  part,  I  set  out  on  my  journey  to  Flanders 
accompanied  by  the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon,  Ma- 
dame de  Tournon,  the  lady  of  my  bedchamber, 
Madame  de  Moiiy  of  Picardy,  Madame  de  Chaste- 
laine,  De  Millon,  Mademoiselle  d'Atric,  Mademoiselle 
de  Tournon,  and  seven  or  eight  other  young  ladies. 
My  male  attendants  were  the  Cardinal  de  Lenon- 
court,   the    Bishop    of    Langres,    and   M.    de    Moiiy, 


128  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Seigneur  de  Picardy,  at  present  father-in-law  to 
the  brother  of  Queen  Louise,  called  the  Comte  de 
Chalingy,  with  my  principal  steward  of  the  house- 
hold, my  chief  esquires,  and  the  other  gentlemen 
of  my  establishment. 


LETTER  XIV. 

Description  of  Queen  Marguerite's  Equipage.  —  Her  Journey 
to  Liege  Described.  —  She  Enters  with  Success  upon  Her 
Mission.  —  Striking  Instance  of  Maternal  Duty  and  Affec- 
tion in  a  Great  Lady.  —  Disasters  near  the  Close  of  the 
Journey. 

The  cavalcade  that  attended  me  excited  great  curi- 
osity as  it  passed  through  the  several  towns  in  the 
course  of  my  journey,  and  reflected  no  small  degree 
of  credit  on  France,  as  it  was  splendidly  set  out,  and 
made  a  handsome  appearance.  I  travelled  in  a  lit- 
ter raised  with  pillars.  The  lining  of  it  was  Spanish 
velvet,  of  a  crimson  colour,  embroidered  in  various 
devices  with  gold  and  different  coloured  silk  thread. 
The  windows  were  of  glass,  painted  in  devices.  The 
lining  and  windows  had,  in  the  whole,  forty  devices, 
a,ll  different  and  alluding  to  the  sun  and  its  effects. 
Each  device  had  its  motto,  either  in  the  Spanish  or 
Italian  language.  My  litter  was  followed  by  two 
others  ;  in  the  one  was  the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur- 
Yon,  and  in  the  other  Madame  de  Tournon,  my  lady 
of  the  bedchamber.  After  them  followed  ten  maids 
of  honour,  on  horseback,  with  their  governess;  and, 


130  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

last  of  all,  six  coaches  and  chariots,  with  the  rest  of 
the  ladies  and  all  our  female  attendants. 

I  took  the  road  of  Picardy,  the  towns  in  which 
province  had  received  the  King's  orders  to  pay  me  all 
due  honours.  Being  arrived  at  Le  Catelet,  a  strong 
place,  about  three  leagues  distant  from  the  frontier 
of  the  Cambresis,  the  Bishop  of  Cambray  (an  ecclesi- 
astical State  acknowledging  the  King  of  Spain  only 
as  a  guarantee)  sent  a  gentleman  to  inquire  of  me  at 
what  hour  I  should  leave  the  place,  as  he  intended 
to  meet  me  on  the  borders  of  his  territory. 

Accordingly  I  found  him  there,  attended  by  a  num- 
ber of  his  people,  who  appeared  to  be  true  Flemings, 
and  to  have  all  the  rusticity  and  unpolished  manners 
of  their  country.  The  Bishop  was  of  the  House  of 
Barlemont,  one  of  the  principal  families  in  Flanders. 
All  of  this  house  have  shown  themselves  Spaniards  at 
heart,  and  at  that  time  were  firmly  attached  to  Don 
John.  The  Bishop  received  me  with  great  politeness 
and  not  a  little  of  the  Spanish  ceremony. 

Although  the  city  of  Cambray  is  not  so  well  built 
as  some  of  our  towns  in  France,  I  thought  it,  not- 
withstanding, far  more  pleasant  than  many  of  these, 
as  the  streets  and  squares  are  larger  and  better  dis- 
posed. The  churches  are  grand  and  highly  orna- 
mented, which  is,  indeed,  common  to  France ;  but 
what  I  admired,  above  all,  was  the  citadel,  which 
is  the  finest  and  best  constructed  in   Christendom. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  131 

The  Spaniards  experienced  it  to  be  strong  whilst  my 
brother  had  it  in  his  possession.  The  governor  of 
the  citadel  at  this  time  was  a  worthy  gentleman 
named  M.  d'Ainsi,  who  was,  in  every  respect,  a  polite 
and  well-accomplished  man,  having  the  carriage  and 
behaviour  of  one  of  our  most  perfect  courtiers,  very 
different  from  the  rude  incivility  which  appears  to  be 
the  characteristic  of  a  Fleming. 

The  Bishop  gave  us  a  grand  supper,  and  after 
supper  a  ball,  to  which  he  had  invited  all  the  ladies 
of  the  city.  As  soon  as  the  ball  was  opened  he  with- 
drew, in  accordance  with  the  Spanish  ceremony ;  but 
M.  d'Ainsi  did  the  honours  for  him,  and  kept  me 
company  during  the  ball,  conducting  me  afterwards 
to  a  collation,  which,  considering  his  command  at  the 
citadel,  was,  I  thought,  imprudent.  1  speak  from 
experience^  having  been  taught,  to  my  cost,  and  contrary 
to  my  desire,  the  caution  and  vigilance  necessary  to  he 
observed  in  keeping  such  places.  As  my  regard  for 
my  brother  was  always  predominant  in  me,  I  con- 
tinually had  his  instructions  in  mind,  and  now  thought 
I  had  a  fair  opportunity  to  open  my  commission  and 
forward  his  views  in  Flanders,  this  town  of  Cambray, 
and  especially  the  citadel,  being,  as  it  were,  a  key 
to  that  country.  Accordingly  I  employed  all  the 
talents  God  had  given  me  to  make  M.  d'Ainsi  a  friend 
to  France,  and  attach  him  to  my  brother's  interest. 
Through  God's  assistance  I  succeeded  with  him,  and 


132  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

so  much  was  M.  d'Ainsi  pleased  with  my  conversation 
that  he  came  to  the  resolution  of  soliciting  the  Bishop, 
his  master,  to  grant  him  leave  to  accompany  me  as 
far  as  Namur,  where  Don  John  of  Austria  was  in 
waiting  to  receive  me,  observing  that  he  had  a  great 
desire  to  witness  so  splendid  an  interview.  This 
Spanish  Fleming,  the  Bishop,  had  the  weakness  to 
grant  M.  d'Ainsi's  request,  who  continued  following 
in  my  train  for  ten  or  twelve  days.  During  this  time 
he  took  every  opportunity  of  discoursing  with  me, 
and  showed  that,  in  his  heart,  he  was  well  disposed 
to  embrace  the  service  of  France,  wishing  no  better 
master  than  the  Prince  my  brother,  and  declaring 
that  he  heartily  despised  being  under  the  command 
of  his  Bishop,  who,  though  his  sovereign,  was  not  his 
superior  by  birth,  being  born  a  private  gentleman  like 
himself,  and,  in  every  other  respect,  greatly  his 
inferior. 

Leaving  Cambray,  I  set  out  to  sleep  at  Valen- 
ciennes, the  chief  city  of  a  part  of  Flanders  called 
by  the  same  name.  Where  this  country  is  divided 
from  Cambr^sis  (as  far  as  which  I  was  conducted 
by  the  Bishop  of  Cambray),  the  Comte  de  Lalain,  M. 
de  Montigny  his  brother,  and  a  number  of  gentlemen, 
to  the  amount  of  two  or  three  hundred,  came  to  meet 
me. 

Valenciennes  is  a  town  inferior  to  Cambray  in 
point  of  strength,  but  equal  to  it  for  the  beauty  of  its 


MAHGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  133 

squares,  and  churches,  —  the  former  ornamented  with 
fountains,  as  the  latter  are  with  curious  clocks.  The 
ingenuity  of  the  Germans  in  the  construction  of  their 
clocks  was  a  matter  of  great  surprise  to  all  my  attend- 
ants, few  amongst  whom  had  ever  before  seen  clocks 
exhibiting  a  number  of  moving  figures,  and  playing 
a  variety  of  tunes  in  the  most  agreeable  manner. 

The  Comte  de  Lalain,  the  governor  of  the  city, 
invited  the  lords  and  gentlemen  of  my  train  to  a  ban- 
quet, reserving  himself  to  give  an  entertainment  to 
the  ladies  on  our  arrival  at  Mons,  where  we  should 
find  the  Countess  his  wife,  his  sister-in-law  Madame 
d'Aurec,  and  other  ladies  of  distinction.  Accordingly 
the  Count,  with  his  attendants,  conducted  us  thither 
the  next  day.  He  claimed  a  relationship  with  the  King 
my  husband,  and  was,  in  reality,  a  person  who  carried 
great  weight  and  authority.  He  was  much  dissatis- 
fied with  the  Spanish  Government,  and  had  conceived 
a  great  dislike  for  it  since  the  execution  of  Count 
Egmont,  who  was  his  near  kinsman. 

Although  he  had  hitherto  abstained  from  entering 
into  the  league  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  the 
Huguenots,  being  himself  a  steady  Catholic,  yet  he 
had  not  admitted  of  an  interview  with  Don  John, 
neither  would  he  suffer  him,  nor  any  one  in  the  in- 
terest of  Spain,  to  enter  upon  his  territories.  Don 
John  was  unwilling  to  give  the  Count  any  umbrage, 
lest  he  should  force  him  to  unite  the  Catholic  League 


134  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

of  Flanders,  called  the  League  of  the  States,  to  that 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  the  Huguenots,  well 
foreseeing  that  such  a  union  would  prove  fatal  to  the 
Spanish  interest,  as  other  governors  have  since  expe- 
rienced. With  this  disposition  of  mind,  the  Comte 
de  Lalain  thought  he  could  not  give  me  sufficient 
demonstrations  of  the  joy  he  felt  by  my  presence ; 
and  he  could  not  have  shown  more  honour  to  his 
natural  prince,  nor  displayed  greater  marks  of  zeal 
and  affection. 

On  our  arrival  at  Mons,  I  was  lodged  in  his  house, 
and  found  there  the  Countess  his  wife,  and  a  Court 
consisting  of  eighty  or  a  himdred  ladies  of  the  city 
and  country.  My  reception  was  rather  that  of  their 
sovereign  lady  than  of  a  foreign  princess.  The  Flem- 
ish ladies  are  naturally  lively,  affable,  and  engaging. 
The  Comtesse  de  Lalain  is  remarkably  so,  and  is, 
moreover,  a  woman  of  great  sense  and  elevation  of 
mind,  in  which  particular,  as  well  as  in  air  and  coun- 
tenance, she  carries  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
lady  your  cousin.  We  became  immediately  intimate, 
and  commenced  a  firm  friendship  at  our  first  meet- 
ing. When  the  supper  hour  came,  we  sat  down  to  a 
banquet,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  ball ;  and  this 
rule  the  Count  observed  as  long  as  I  stayed  at  Mons, 
which  was,  indeed,  longer  than  I  intended.  It  had 
been  my  intention  to  stay  at  Mons  one  night  only,  but 
the  Count's  obliging  lady  prevailed  on  me  to  pass  a 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  135 

whole  week  there.  I  strove  to  excuse  myself  from  so 
long  a  stay,  imagining  it  might  be  inconvenient  to 
them ;  but  whatever  I  could  say  availed  nothing  with 
the  Count  and  his  lady,  and  I  was  under  the  necessity 
of  remaining  with  them  eight  days.  The  Countess 
and  I  were  on  so  familiar  a  footing  that  she  stayed  in 
my  bedchamber  till  a  late  horn*,  and  would  not  have 
left  me  then  had  she  not  imposed  upon  herself  a  task 
very  rarely  performed  by  persons  of  her  rank,  which, 
however,  placed  the  goodness  of  her  disposition  in  the 
most  amiable  light.  In  fact,  she  gave  suck  to  her 
infant  son ;  and  one  day  at  table,  sitting  next  me, 
whose  whole  attention  was  absorbed  in  the  promotion 
of  my  brother's  interest,  —  the  table  being  the  place 
where,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  all  are 
familiar  and  ceremony  is  laid  aside,  —  she,  dressed 
out  in  the  richest  manner  and  blazing  with  diamonds, 
gave  the  breast  to  her  child  without  rising  from  her 
seat,  the  infant  being  brought  to  the  table  as  superbly 
habited  as  its  nurse,  the  mother.  She  performed  this 
maternal  duty  with  so  much  good  humour,  and  with 
a  gracefulness  peculiar  to  herself,  that  this  charitable 
office  —  which  would  have  appeared  disgusting  and 
been  considered  as  an  affront  if  done  by  some  others 
of  equal  rank  —  gave  pleasure  to  all  who  sat  at  table, 
and,  accordingly,  they  signified  their  approbation  by 
their  applause. 

The  tables  beinq-  removed,  the  dances  commenced 


136  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

in  the  same  room  wnerein  we  had  supped,  which  was 
magnificent  and  large.  The  Countess  and  I  sitting 
side  by  side,  I  expressed  the  pleasure  I  received  from 
her  conversation,  and  that  I  should  place  this  meet- 
ing amongst  the  happiest  events  of  mj  life.  "  In- 
deed," said  I,  "  I  shall  have  cause  to  regret  that  it 
ever  did  take  place,  as  I  shall  depart  hence  so  unwill- 
ingly, there  being  so  little  probability  of  our  meeting 
again  soon.  Why  did  Heaven  deny  our  being  born 
in  the  same  country  !  " 

This  was  said  in  order  to  introduce  my  brother's 
business.  She  replied :  "  This  country  did,  indeed, 
formerly  belong  to  France,  and  our  lawyers  now 
plead  their  causes  in  the  French  language.  The 
greater  part  of  the  people  here  still  retain  an  affec- 
tion for  the  French  nation.  For  my  part,"  added  the 
Countess,  "  I  have  had  a  strong  attachment  to  your 
country  ever  since  I  have  had  the  honour  of  seeing 
you.  This  country  has  been  long  in  the  possession 
of  the  House  of  Austria,  but  the  regard  of  the  people 
for  that  house  has  been  greatly  weakened  by  the 
death  of  Count  Egmont,  M.  de  Home,  M.  de  Mon- 
tigny,  and  others  of  the  same  party,  some  of  them  our 
near  relations,  and  all  of  the  best  families  of  the 
country.  We  entertain  the  utmost  dislike  for  the 
Spanish  Government,  and  wish  for  nothing  so  much 
as  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  their  tyranny ;  but,  as  the 
country  is.  divided  betwixt  different  religions,  we  are 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  137 

at  a  loss  how  to  effect  it  If  we  could  unite,  we 
should  soon  drive  out  the  Spaniards ;  but  this  division 
amongst  ourselves  renders  us  weak.  Would  to  God 
the  King  your  brother  would  come  to  a  resolution 
of  reconquering  this  country,  to  which  he  has  an 
ancient  claim !  We  should  all  receive  him  with  open 
arms." 

This  was  a  frank  declaration,  made  by  the  Countess 
without  premeditation,  but  it  had  been  long  agitated 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  who  considered  that  it 
was  from  France  they  were  to  hope  for  redress  from 
the  evils  with  which  they  were  afflicted.  I  now  found 
I  had  as  favourable  an  opening  as  I  could  wish  for 
to  declare  my  errand.  I  told  her  that  the  King  of 
France  my  brother  was  averse  to  engaging  in  for- 
eign war,  and  the  more  so  as  the  Huguenots  in  his 
kingdom  were  too  strong  to  admit  of  his  sending  any 
large  force  out  of  it.  "  My  brother  Alen9on,"  said 
I,  "  has  sufficient  means,  and  might  be  induced  to 
undertake  it.  He  has  equal  valour,  prudence,  and 
benevolence  with  the  King  my  brother  or  any  of 
his  ancestors.  He  has  been  bred  to  arms,  and  is 
esteemed  one  of  the  bravest  generals  of  these  times. 
He  has  the  command  of  the  King's  army  against 
the  Huguenots,  and  has  lately  taken  a  well-fortified 
town,  called  Issoire,  and  some  other  places  that  were 
in  their  possession.  You  could  not  invite  to  your 
assistance  a  prince  who  has  it  so  much  in  his  power 


138  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

to  give  it ;  being  not  only  a  neighbour,  but  having 
a  kingdom  like  France  at  his  devotion,  whence  he 
may  expect  to  derive  the  necessary  aid  and  succour. 
The  Count  your  husband  may  be  assured  that  if  he 
do  my  brother  this  good  office  he  will  not  find  him 
ungrateful,  but  may  set  what  price  he  pleases  upon 
his  meritorious  service.  My  brother  is  of  a  noble 
and  generous  disposition,  and  ready  to  requite  those 
who  do  him  favours.  He  is,  moreover,  an  admirer  of 
men  of  honour  and  gallantry,  and  accordingly  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  bravest  and  best  men  France  has  to 
boast  of.  I  am  in  hopes  that  a  peace  will  soon  be 
reestablished  with  the  Huguenots,  and  expect  to  find 
it  so  on  my  return  to  France.  If  the  Count  your 
husband  think  as  you  do,  and  will  permit  me  to 
speak  to  him  on  the  subject,  I  will  engage  to  bring 
my  brother  over  to  the  proposal,  and,  in  that  case, 
your  country  in  general,  and  your  house  in  particular, 
will  be  well  satisfied  with  him.  If,  through  your 
means,  my  brother  should  establish  himself  here,  you 
may  depend  on  seeing  me  often,  there  being  no 
brother  or  sister  who  has  a  stronger  affection  for 
each  other." 

The  Countess  appeared  to  listen  to  what  I  said 
with  great  pleasure,  and  acknowledged  that  she  had 
not  entered  upon  this  discourse  without  design.  She 
observed  that,  having  perceived  I  did  her  the  honour 
to  have  some  regard  for  her,  she  had  resolved  within 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  139 

herself  not  to  let  me  depart  out  of  the  country  with- 
out explaining  to  me  the  situation  of  it,  and  begging 
me  to  procure  the  aid  of  France  to  relieve  them  from 
the  apprehensions  of  living  in  a  state  of  perpetual 
war  or  of  submitting  to  Spanish  tyranny.  She  there- 
upon entreated  me  to  allow  her  to  relate  our  present 
conversation  to  her  husband,  and  permit  them  both 
to  confer  with  me  on  the  subject  the  next  day.  To 
this  I  readily  gave  my  consent. 

Thus  we  passed  the  evening  in  discourse  upon  the 
object  of  my  mission,  and  I  observed  that  she  took  a 
singular  pleasure  in  talking  upon  it  in  all  our  succeed- 
ing conferences  when  I  thought  proper  to  introduce 
it.  The  ball  being  ended,  we  went  to  hear  vespers 
at  the  church  of  the  Canonesses,  an  order  of  nuns  of 
which  we  have  none  in  France.  These  are  young 
ladies  who  are  entered  in  these  communities  at  a 
tender  age,  in  order  to  improve  their  fortunes  till 
they  are  of  an  age  to  be  married.  They  do  not  all 
sleep  under  the  same  roof,  but  in  detached  houses 
within  an  enclosure.  In  each  of  these  houses  are 
three,  four,  or  perhaps  six  young  girls,  under  the  care 
of  an  old  woman.  These  governesses,  together  with 
the  abbess,  are  of  the  number  of  such  as  have  never 
been  married.  These  girls  never  wear  the  habit  of 
the  order  but  in  church ;  and  the  service  there  ended, 
they  dress  like  others,  pay  visits,  frequent  balls,  and 
go  where  they  please.     They  were  constant  visitors 


140  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

at  the    Count's   entertainments,   and   danced  at  his 
balls. 

The  Countess  thought  the  time  long  until  the  night, 
when  she  had  an  opportunity  of  relating  to  the  Count 
the  conversation  she  had  with  me,  and  the  opening 
of  the  business.  The  next  morning  she  came  to  me, 
and  brought  her  husband  with  her.  He  entered  into 
a  detail  of  the  grievances  the  country  laboured  under, 
and  the  just  reasons  he  had  for  ridding  it  of  the 
tyranny  of  Spain.  In  doing  this,  he  said,  he  should 
not  consider  himself  as  acting  against  his  natural 
sovereign,  because  he  well  knew  he  ought  to  look  for 
him  in  the  person  of  the  King  of  France.  He  ex- 
plained to  me  the  means  whereby  my  brother  might 
establish  himself  in  Flanders,  having  possession  of 
Hainault,  which  extended  as  far  as  Brussels.  He 
said  the  difficulty  lay  in  securing  the  Cambr^sis, 
which  is  situated  betwixt  Hainault  and  Flanders. 
It  would,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  engage  M.  d'Ainsi 
in  the  business.  To  this  I  replied  that,  as  he  was 
his  neighbour  and  friend,  it  might  be  better  that 
he  should  open  the  matter  to  him;  and  I  begged  he 
would  do  so.  I  next  assured  him  that  he  might 
have  the  most  perfect  reliance  on  the  gratitude  and 
friendship  of  my  brother,  and  be  certain  of  receiving 
as  large  a  share  of  power  and  authority  as  such  a 
service  done  by  a  person  of  his  rank  merited.  Lastly, 
we  agreed  upon  an  interview  betwixt  my  brother  and 


JUARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  141 

M.  de  Montigny,  the  brother  of  the  Count,  which  was 
to  take  place  at  La  Fere,  upon  my  return,  when  this 
business  should  be  arranged.  During  the  time  I 
stayed  at  Mons,  I  said  all  I  could  to  confirm  the 
Count  in  this  resolution,  in  which  I  found  myself 
seconded  by  the   Countess. 

The  day  of  my  departure  was  now  arrived,  to  the 
great  regret  of  the  ladies  of  Mons,  as  well  as  myself. 
The  Countess  expressed  herself  in  terms  which  showed 
she  had  conceived  the  warmest  friendship  for  me,  and 
made  me  promise  to  return  by  way  of  that  city.  I 
presented  the  Countess  with  a  diamond  bracelet,  and 
to  the  Count  I  gave  a  riband  and  diamond  star  of 
considerable  value.  But  these  presents,  valuable  as 
they  were,  became  more  so,  in  their  estimation,  as  I 
was  the  donor. 

Of  the  ladies,  none  accompanied  me  from  this  place, 
except  Madame  d'Aurec.  She  went  with  me  to 
Namur,  where  I  slept  that  night,  and  where  she 
expected  to  find  her  husband  and  the  Due  d'Arscot, 
her  brother-in-law,  who  had  been  there  since  the  peace 
betwixt  the  King  of  Spain  and  the  States  of  Flanders. 
For  though  they  were  both  of  the  party  of  the  States, 
yet  the  Due  d'Arscot,  being  an  old  courtier  and  having 
attended  King  Philip  in  Flanders  and  England,  could 
not  withdraw  himself  from  Court  and  the  society 
of  the  great.  The  Comte  de  Lalain,  with  all  his 
nobles,  conducted  me  two  leagues  beyond  his  govern- 


142  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

ment,  and  until  he  saw  Don  John's  company  in  the 
distance  advancing  to  meet  me.  He  then  took  his 
leave  of  me,  being  unwilling  to  meet  Don  John; 
but  M.  d'Ainsi  stayed  with  me,  as  his  master,  the 
Bishop  of  Cambray,  was  in  the  Spanish  interest. 

This  gallant  company  having  left  me,  I  was  soon 
after  met  by  Don  John  of  Austria,  preceded  by  a  great 
number  of  running  footmen,  and  escorted  by  only 
twenty  or  thirty  horsemen.  He  was  attended  by  a 
number  of  noblemen,  and  amongst  the  rest  the  Due 
d'Arscot,  M.  d'Am-ec,  the  Marquis  de  Varenbon,  and 
the  younger  Balengon,  governor,  for  the  King  of  Spain, 
of  the  county  of  Burgundy.  These  last  two,  who  are 
brothers,  had  ridden  post  to  meet  me.  Of  Don  John's 
household  there  was  only  Louis  de  Gonzago  of  any 
rank.  He  called  himself  a  relation  of  the  Duke  of 
Mantua ;  the  others  were  mean-looking  people,  and 
of  no  consideration.  Don  John  alighted  from  his 
horse  to  salute  me  in  my  litter,  which  was  opened 
for  the  purpose.  I  returned  the  salute  after  the 
French  fashion  to  him,  the  Due  d'Arscot,  and  M. 
d'Aurec.  After  an  exchange  of  compliments,  he 
mounted  his  horse,  but  continued  in  discourse  with 
me  until  we  reached  the  city,  which  was  not  before 
it  grew  dark,  as  I  set  off  late,  the  ladies  of  Mons 
keeping  me  as  long  as  they  could,  amusing  themselves 
with  viewing  my  litter,  and  requiring  an  explanation 
of  the  different  mottoes  and  devices.      However,  as 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  143 

the  Spaniards  excel  in  preserving  good  order,  Namur 
appeared  with  particular  advantage,  for  the  streets 
were  well  lighted,  every  house  being  illuminated, 
so  that  the  blaze  exceeded  that  of  daylight. 

Our  supper  was  served  to  us  in  our  respective 
apartments,  Don  John  being  unwilling,  after  the 
fatigue  of  so  long  a  journey,  to  incommode  us  with 
a  banquet.  The  house  in  which  I  was  lodged  had 
been  newly  furnished  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
me.  It  consisted  of  a  magnificent  large  salon,  with 
a  private  apartment,  consisting  of  lodging  rooms  and 
closets,  furnished  in  the  most  costly  manner,  with 
furniture  of  every  kind,  and  hung  with  the  richest 
tapestry  of  velvet  and  satin,  divided  into  compart- 
ments by  columns  of  silver  embroidery,  with  knobs 
of  gold,  all  wrought  in  the  most  superb  manner. 
Within  these  compartments  were  figures  in  antique 
habits,  embroidered  in  gold  and  silver. 

The  Cardinal  de  Lenoncourt,  a  man  of  taste  and 
curiosity,  being  one  day  in  these  apartments  with  the 
Due  d'Arscot,  who,  as  I  have  before  observed,  was  an 
ornament  to  Don  John's  Court,  remarked  to  him  that 
this  furniture  seemed  more  proper  for  a  great  king 
than  a  young  unmarried  prince  like  Don  John.  To 
which  the  Due  d'Arscot  replied  that  it  came  to  him 
as  a  present,  having  been  sent  to  him  by  a  bashaw 
belonging  to  the  Grand  Seignior,  whose  son  she  had 
made  prisoners  in  a  signal  victory  obtained  over  the 


144  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Turks.  Don  John  having  sent  the  bashaw's  sons  back 
without  ransom,  the  father,  in  return,  made  him  a 
present  of  a  large  quantity  of  gold,  silver,  and  silk 
stuffs,  which  he  caused  to  be  wrought  into  tapestry 
at  Milan,  where  there  are  curious  workmen  in  this 
way  ;  and  he  had  the  Queen's  bedchamber  hung  with 
tapestry  representing  the  battle  in  which  he  had  so 
gloriously  defeated  the  Turks. 

The  next  morning  Don  John  conducted  us  to  chapel, 
where  we  heard  mass  celebrated  after  the  Spanish 
manner,  with  all  kinds  of  music,  after  which  we  par- 
took of  a  banquet  prepared  by  Don  John.  He  and 
I  were  seated  at  a  separate  table,  at  a  distance  of  three 
yards  from  which  stood  the  great  one,  of  which  the 
honours  were  done  by  Madame  d'Aurec.  At  this 
table  the  ladies  and  principal  lords  took  their  seats. 
Don  John  was  served  with  drink  by  Louis  de  Gonzago, 
kneeling.  The  tables  being  removed,  the  ball  was 
opened,  and  the  dancing  continued  the  whole  after- 
noon. The  evening  was  spent  in  conversation  betwixt 
Don  John  and  me,  who  told  me  I  greatly  resembled 
the  Queen  his  mistress,  by  whom  he  meant  the  late 
Queen  my  sister,  and  for  whom  he  professed  to  have 
entertained  a  very  high  esteem.  In  short,  Don  John 
manifested,  by  every  mark  of  attention  and  politeness, 
as  well  to  me  as  to  my  attendants,  the  very  great 
pleasure  he  had  in  receiving  me. 

The  boats    which    were   to    convey   me   upon   the 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  145 

Meuse  to  Liege  not  all  being  ready,  I  was  under  the 
necessity  of  staying  another  day.  The  morning  was 
passed  as  that  of  the  day  before.  After  dinner,  we 
embarked  on  the  river  in  a  very  beautiful  boat,  sur- 
rounded by  others  having  on  board  musicians  playing 
on  hautboys,  horns,  and  violins,  and  landed  at  an 
island  where  Don  John  had  caused  a  collation  to  be 
prepared  in  a  large  bower  formed  with  branches  of 
ivy,  in  which  the  musicians  were  placed  in  small  re- 
cesses, playing  on  their  instruments  during  the  time 
of  supper.  The  tables  being  removed,  the  dances 
began,  and  lasted  till  it  was  time  to  return,  which  I 
did  in  the  same  boat  that  conveyed  me  thither,  and 
which  was  that  provided  for  my  voyage. 

The  next  morning  Don  John  conducted  me  to  the 
boat,  and  there  took  a  most  polite  and  courteous  leave, 
charging  M.  and  Madame  d'Aurec  to  see  me  safe  to 
Huy,  the  first  town  belonging  to  the  Bishop  of  Lifige, 
where  I  was  to  sleep.  As  soon  as  Don  John  had 
gone  on  shore,  M.  d'Ainsi,  who  remained  in  the  boat, 
and  who  had  the  Bishop  of  Cambray's  permission  to 
go  to  Namur  only,  took  leave  of  me  with  many  protes- 
tations of  fidelity  and  attachment  to  my  brother  and 
myself. 

But  Fortune,  envious  of  my  hitherto  prosperous 
journey,  gave  me  two  omens  of  the  sinister  events  of 
my  return. 

The  first  was  the  sudden  illness  which  attacked 


146  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Mademoiselle  de  Tournon,  the  daughter  of  the  lady  of 
my  bedchamber,  a  young  person,  accomplished,  with 
every  grace  and  virtue,  and  for  whom  I  had  the  most 
perfect  regard.  No  sooner  had  the  boat  left  the 
shore  than  this  young  lady  was  seized  with  an  alarm- 
ing disorder,  which,  from  the  great  pain  attending  it, 
caused  her  to  scream  in  the  most  doleful  manner. 
The  physicians  attributed  the  cause  to  spasms  of  the 
heart,  which,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  exertions  of 
their  skill,  carried  her  off  a  few  days  after  my  arrival 
at  Lidge.  As  the  history  of  this  young  lady  is  re- 
markable, I  shall  relate  it  in  my  next  letter. 

The  other  omen  was  what  happened  to  us  at  Huy, 
immediately  upon  our  arrival  there.  This  town  is 
built  on  the  declivity  of  a  mountain,  at  the  foot  of 
which  runs  the  river  Mouse.  As  we  were  about  to 
land,  there  fell  a  torrent  of  rain,  which,  coming  down 
the  steep  sides  of  the  mountain,  swelled  the  river 
instantly  to  such  a  degree  that  we  had  only  time  to 
leap  out  of  the  boat  and  run  to  the  top,  the  flood 
reaching  the  very  highest  street,  next  to  where  I  was 
to  lodge.  There  we  were  forced  to  put  up  with  such 
accommodation  as  could  be  procured  in  the  house,  as 
it  was  impossible  to  remove  the  smallest  article  of 
our  baggage  from  the  boats,  or  even  to  stir  out  of  the 
house  we  were  in,  the  whole  city  being  under  water. 
However,  the  town  was  as  suddenly  relieved  from  this 
calamity  as  it  had  been  afflicted  with  it,  for,  on  the 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  147 

next  morning,  the  whole  inundation  had  ceased, 
the  waters  having  run  off,  and  the  river  being  confined 
within  its  usual  channel. 

Leaving  Huy,  M.  and  Madame  d'Aurec  returned  to 
Don  John  at  Namur,  and  I  proceeded,  in  the  boat, 
to  sleep  that  night  at  Lidge. 


LETTER  XV. 

The  City  of  Liege  Described.  —  Affecting  Story  of  Mademoi- 
selle de  Tournon.  —  Fatal  Effects  of  Suppressed  Anguish 
of  Mind. 

The  Bishop  of  Liege,  who  is  the  sovereign  of  the 
city  and  province,  received  me  with  all  the  cordiality 
and  respect  that  could  be  expected  from  a  personage 
of  his  dignity  and  great  accomplishments.  He  was, 
indeed,  a  nobleman  endowed  with  singular  prudence 
and  virtue,  agreeable  in  his  person  and  conversation, 
gracious  and  magnificent  in  his  carriage  and  behaviour, 
to  which  I  may  add  that  he  spoke  the  French  lan- 
guage perfectly. 

He  was  constantly  attended  by  his  chapter,  with 
several  of  his  canons,  who  are  all  sons  of  dukes, 
counts,  or  great  German  lords.  The  bishopric  is 
itself  a  sovereign  State,  which  brings  in  a  considerable 
revenue,  and  includes  a  number  of  fine  cities.  The 
bishop  is  chosen  from  amongst  the  canons,  who  must 
be  of  noble  descent,  and  resident  one  year.  The  city 
is  larger  than  Lyons,  and  much  resembles  it,  having 
the  Meuse  running  through  it.  The  houses  in  which  the 
canons  reside  have  the  appearance  of  noble  palaces. 

148 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  149 

The  streets  of  the  city  are  regular  and  spacious,  the 
houses  of  the  citizens  well  built,  the  squares  large, 
and  ornamented  with  curious  fountains.  The  churches 
appear  as  if  raised  entirely  of  marble,  of  which  there 
are  considerable  quarries  in  the  neighbourhood ;  they 
are  all  of  them  ornamented  with  beautiful  clocks,  and 
exhibit  a  variety  of  moving  figures. 

The  Bishop  received  me  as  I  landed  from  the  boat, 
and  conducted  me  to  his  magnificent  residence,  orna- 
mented with  delicious  foimtains  and  gardens,  set  off 
with  galleries,  all  painted,  superbly  gilt,  and  enriched 
with  marble,  beyond  description. 

The  spring  which  affords  the  waters  of  Spa  being 
distant  no  more  than  three  or  four  leagues  from  the 
city  of  Liege,  and  there  being  only  a  village,  consist- 
ing of  three  or  four  small  houses,  on  the  spot,  the 
Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon  was  advised  by  her  phy- 
sicians to  stay  at  Liege  and  have  the  waters  brought 
to  her,  which  they  assured  her  would  have  equal 
efficacy,  if  taken  after  sunset  and  before  sunrise,  as 
if  drmik  at  the  spring.  I  was  well  pleased  that  she 
resolved  to  follow  the  advice  of  the  doctors,  as  we 
were  more  comfortably  lodged  and  had  an  agreeable 
society  ;  for,  besides  his  Grace  (so  the  bishop  is  styled, 
as  a  king  is  addressed  his  Majesty,  and  a  prince  his 
Highness),  the  news  of  my  arrival  being  spread  about, 
many  lords  and  ladies  came  from  Germany  to  visit 
me.     Amongst  these  was  the  Countess  d'Aremberg, 


150  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

who  had  the  honour  to  accompany  Queen  Elizabeth 
to  Mezidres,  to  which  place  she  came  to  marry  King 
Charles  my  brother,  a  lady  very  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  Empress,  the  Emperor,  and  all  the  princes 
in  Christendom.  With  her  came  her  sister  the 
Landgravine,  Madame  d'Aremberg  her  daughter,  M. 
d'Aremberg  her  son,  a  gallant  and  accomplished 
nobleman,  the  .perfect  image  of  his  father,  who 
brought  the  Spanish  succours  to  King  Charles  my 
brother,  and  returned  with  great  honour  and  addi- 
tional reputation.  This  meeting,  so  honourable  to 
me,  and  so  much  to  my  satisfaction,  was  damped 
by  the  grief  and  concern  occasioned  by  the  loss  of 
Mademoiselle  de  Tournon,  whose  story,  being  of  a 
singular  nature,  I  shall  now  relate  to  you,  agreeably 
to  the  promise  I  made  in  my  last  letter. 

I  must  begin  with  observing  to  you  that  Madame 
de  Tournon,  at  this  time  lady  of  my  bedchamber,  had 
several  daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom  married  M.  de 
BaleuQon,  governor,  for  the  King  of  Spain,  in  the 
county  of  Burgundy.  This  daughter,  upon  her  mar- 
riage, had  solicited  her  mother  to  admit  of  her  taking 
her  sister,  the  young  lady  whose  story  I  am  now 
about  to  relate,  to  live  with  her,  as  she  was  going  to 
a  country  strange  to  her,  and  wherein  she  had  no 
relations.  To  this  her  mother  consented  ;  and  the 
young  lady,  being  universally  admired  for  her  modesty 
and  graceful  accomplishments,  for  which  she  certainly 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  151 

deserved  admiration,  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  Varenbon.  The  Marquis,  as  I  before  men- 
tioned, is  the  brother  of  M.  de  Balen^on,  and  was 
intended  for  the  Church ;  but,  being  violently  enam- 
oured of  Mademoiselle  de  Tournon  (whom,  as  he 
lived  in  the  same  house,  he  had  frequent  opportunities 
of  seeing),  he  now  begged  his  brother's  permission  to 
marry  her,  not  having  yet  taken  orders.  The  young 
lady's  family,  to  whom  he  had  likewise  communicated 
his  wish,  readily  gave  their  consent,  but  his  brother 
refused  his,  strongly  advising  him  to  change  his  reso- 
lution and  put  on  the  gown- 
Thus  were  matters  situated  when  her  mother,  Ma- 
dame de  Tournon,  a  virtuous  and  pious  lady,  thinking 
she  had  cause  to  be  offended,  ordered  her  daughter  to 
leave  the  house  of  her  sister,  Madame  de  Balengon, 
and  come  to  her.  The  mother,  a  woman  of  a  violent 
spirit,  not  considering  that  her  daughter  was  grown 
up  and  merited  a  mild  treatment,  was  continually 
scolding  the  poor  young  lady,  so  that  she  was  for 
ever  with  tears  in  her  eyes.  Still,  there  was  noth- 
ing to  blame  in  the  young  girl's  conduct,  but  such 
was  the  severity  of  the  mother's  disposition.  The 
daughter,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  wished  to  be  from 
under  the  mother's  tyrannical  government,  and  was 
accordingly  delighted  with  the  thoughts  of  attending 
me  in  this  journey  to  Flanders,  hoping,  as  it  happened, 
that  she  should  meet  the  Marquis  de  Yarenbon  some- 


152  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

where  on  the  road,  and  that,  as  he  had  now  abandoned 
all  thoughts  of  the  Church,  he  would  renew  his  pro- 
posal of  marriage,  and  take  her  from  her  mother. 

I  have  before  mentioned  that  the  Marquis  de 
Varenbon  and  the  younger  Balengon  joined  us  at 
Namur.  Young  Balengon,  who  was  far  from  being 
80  agreeable  as  his  brother,  addressed  himself  to  the 
young  lady,  but  the  Marquis,  during  the  whole  time 
we  stayed  at  Namur,  paid  not  the  least  attention  to 
her,  and  seemed  as  if  he  had  never  been  acquainted 
with  her. 

The  resentment,  grief,  and  disappointment  occa- 
sioned by  a  behaviour  so  slighting  and  unnatural  was 
necessarily  stifled  in  her  breast,  as  decorum  and  her 
sex's  pride  obliged  her  to  appear  as  if  she  disregarded 
it ;  but  when,  after  taking  leave,  all  of  them  left  the 
boat,  the  anguish  of  her  mind,  which  she  had  hitherto 
suppressed,  could  no  longer  be  restrained,  and,  labour- 
ing for  vent,  it  stopped  her  respiration,  and  forced  from 
her  those  lamentable  outcries  which  I  have  already 
spoken  of.  Her  youth  combated  for  eight  days  with 
this  uncommon  disorder,  but  at  the  expiration  of  that 
time  she  died,  to  the  great  grief  of  her  mother,  as 
well  as  myseK.  I  say  of  her  mother,  for,  though  she 
was  so  rigidly  severe  over  this  daughter,  she  tenderly 
loved  her. 

The  funeral  of  this  unfortunate  young  lady  was 
solemnised  with  all  proper  ceremonies,  and  conducted 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  163 

in  the  most  honourable  manner,  as  she  was  descended 
from  a  great  family,  allied  to  the  Queen  my  mother. 
When  the  day  of  interment  arrived,  four  of  my  gentle- 
men were  appointed  bearers,  one  of  whom  was  named 
La  Boessiere.  This  man  had  entertained  a  secret  pas- 
sion for  her,  which  he  never  durst  declare  on  account 
of  the  inferiority  of  his  family  and  station.  He  was 
now  destined  to  bear  the  remains  of  her,  dead,  for 
whom  he  had  long  been  dying,  and  was  now  as  near 
dying  for  her  loss  as  he  had  before  been  for  her  love. 
The  melancholy  procession  was  marching  slowly 
along,  when  it  was  met  by  the  Marquis  de  Varenbon, 
who  had  been  the  sole  occasion  of  it.  We  had  not 
left  Namur  long  when  the  Marquis  reflected  upon  his 
cruel  behaviour  towards  this  unhappy  young  lady ; 
and  his  passion  (wonderful  to  relate)  being  revived 
by  the  absence  of  her  who  inspired  it,  though  scarcely 
alive  while  she  was  present,  he  had  resolved  to  come 
and  ask  her  of  her  mother  in  marriage.  He  made  no 
doubt,  perhaps,  of  success,  as  he  seldom  failed  in  en- 
terprises of  love ;  witness  the  great  lady  he  has  since 
obtained  for  a  wife,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  her 
family.  He  might,  besides,  have  flattered  himself  that 
he  should  easily  have  gained  a  pardon  from  her  by 
whom  he  was  beloved,  according  to  the  Italian  prov- 
erb, "  Che  la  forza  d'amore  non  riguarda  al  delitto  '* 
(Lovers  are  not  criminal  in  the  estimation  of  one 
another).     Accordingly,   the    Marquis   solicited    Don 


154  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

John  to  be  despatched  to  me  on  some  errand,  and 
arrived,  as  I  said  before,  at  the  very  instant  the  corpse 
of  this  ill-fated  young  lady  was  being  borne  to  the 
grave.  He  was  stopped  by  the  crowd  occasioned  by 
this  solemn  procession.  He  contemplates  it  for  some 
time.  He  observes  a  long  train  of  persons  in  mourn- 
ing, and  remarks  the  coffin  to  be  covered  with  a  white 
pall,  and  that  there  are  chaplets  of  flowers  laid  upon 
the  coffin.  He  inquires  whose  funeral  it  is.  The 
answer  he  receives  is,  that  it  is  the  funeral  of  a  young 
lady.  Unfortunately  for  him,  this  reply  fails  to  sat- 
isfy his  curiosity.  He  makes  up  to  one  who  led  the 
procession,  and  eagerly  asks  the  name  of  the  young 
lady  they  are  proceeding  to  bury.  When,  oh,  fatal 
answer!  Love,  willing  to  avenge  the  victim  of  his 
ingratitude  and  neglect,  suggests  a  reply  which  had 
nearly  deprived  him  of  life.  He  no  sooner  hears  the 
name  of  Mademoiselle  de  Tournon  pronounced  than  he 
falls  from  his  horse  in  a  swoon.  He  is  taken  up 
for  dead,  and  conveyed  to  the  nearest  house,  where 
he  lies  for  a  time  insensible ;  his  soul,  no  doubt, 
leaving  his  body  to  obtain  pardon  from  her  whom  he 
had  hastened  to  a  premature  grave,  to  return  to  taste 
the  bitterness  of  death  a  second  time. 

Having  performed  the  last  offices  to  the  remains  of 
this  poor  young  lady,  I  was  unwilling  to  discompose 
the  gaiety  of  the  society  assembled  here  on  my  ac- 
count by  any  show  of  grief.     Accordingly,  I  joined 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  155 

the  Bishop,  or,  as  he  is  called,  his  Grace,  and  his 
canons,  in  their  entertainments  at  different  houses, 
and  in  gardens,  of  which  the  city  and  its  neighbour- 
hood afforded  a  variety.  I  was  every  morning  at- 
tended by  a  numerous  company  to  the  garden,  in 
which  I  drank  the  waters,  the  exercise  of  walking 
being  recommended  to  be  used  with  them.  As  the 
physician  who  advised  me  to  take  them  was  my  own 
brother,  they  did  not  fail  of  their  effect  with  me  ;  and 
for  these  six  or  seven  years  which  are  gone  over 
my  head  since  I  drank  them,  I  have  been  free  from 
any  complaint  of  erysipelas  on  my  arm.  From  this 
garden  we  usually  proceeded  to  the  place  where  we 
were  invited  to  dinner.  After  dinner  we  were  amused 
with  a  ball ;  from  the  ball  we  went  to  some  convent, 
where  we  heard  vespers ;  from  vespers  to  supper,  and 
that  over,  we  had  another  ball,  or  music  on  the  river. 


LETTER  XYI. 

Queen  Marguerite,  on  Her  Return  from  Liege,  Is  in  Danger 
of  Being  Made  a  Prisoner.  —  She  Arrives,  after  Some  Nar- 
row Escapes,  at  La  Fere. 

In  this  manner  we  passed  the  six  weeks,  which  is 
the  usual  time  for  taking  these  waters,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  the  Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon  was  de- 
sirous to  return  to  France  ;  but  Madame  d' Aurec,  who 
just  then  returned  to  us  from  Namur,  on  her  way  to 
rejoin  her  husband  in  Lorraine,  brought  us  news  of  an 
extraordinary  change  of  affairs  in  that  town  and  prov- 
ince since  we  had  passed  through  it. 

It  appeared  from  this  lady's  account  that,  on  the 
very  day  we  left  Namur,  Don  John,  after  quitting 
the  boat,  mounted  his  horse  under  pretence  of  tak- 
ing the  diversion  of  hunting,  and,  as  he  passed  the 
gate  of  the  castle  of  Namur,  expressed  a  desire  of 
seeing  it;  that,  having  entered,  he  took  possession 
of  it,  notwithstanding  he  held  it  for  the  States,  agree- 
ably to  a  convention.  Don  John,  moreover,  arrested 
the  persons  of  the  Due  d'Arscot  and  M.  d' Aurec,  and 
also  made  Madame  d' Aurec  a  prisoner.  After  some 
remonstrances  and  entreaties,  he  had  set  her  husband 


MARGUERITE    DE   V ALOIS.  157 

and  brother-in-law  at  liberty,  but  detained  her  as  a 
hostage  for  them.  In  consequence  of  these  measures, 
the  whole  country  was  in  arms.  The  province  of  Na- 
mur  was  divided  into  three  parties:  the  first  where- 
of was  that  of  the  States,  or  the  Catholic  party  of 
Flanders;  the  second  that  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
and  the  Huguenots ;  the  third,  the  Spanish  party,  of 
which  Don  John  was  the  head. 

By  letters  which  I  received  just  at  this  time  from 
my  brother,  through  the  hands  of  a  gentleman  named 
Lescar,  I  found  I  was  in  great  danger  of  falling  into 
the  hands  of  one  or  other  of  these  parties. 

These  letters  informed  me  that,  since  my  departure 
from  Court,  God  had  dealt  favourably  with  my  brother, 
and  enabled  him  to  acquit  himself  of  the  command  of 
the  army  confided  to  him,  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the 
King's  service;  so  that  he  had  taken  all  the  towns 
and  driven  the  Huguenots  out  of  the  provinces,  agree- 
ably to  the  design  for  which  the  army  was  raised ; 
that  he  had  returned  to  the  Court  at  Poitiers,  where 
the  King  stayed  during  the  siege  of  Brouage,  to  be 
near  to  M.  de  Mayenne,  in  order  to  afford  him  what- 
ever succours  he  stood  in  need  of ;  that,  as  the  Court 
is  a  Proteus,  forever  putting  on  a  new  face,  he  had 
found  it  entirely  changed,  so  that  he  had  been  no 
more  considered  than  if  he  had  done  the  King  no  ser- 
vice whatever ;  and  that  Bussi,  who  had  been  so  gra- 
ciously looked  upon  before  and  during  this  last  war,  had 


158  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

done  great  personal  service,  and  had  lost  a  brother  at 
the  storming  of  Issoire,  was  very  coolly  received,  and 
even  as  maliciously  persecuted  as  in  the  time  of  Le 
Guast;  in  consequence  of  which  either  he  or  Bussi 
experienced  some  indignity  or  other.  He  further 
mentioned  that  the  King's  favourites  had  been  prac- 
tising with  his  most  faithful  servants,  Maugiron,  La 
Yalette,  Mauleon,  and  Hivarrot,  and  several  other 
good  and  trusty  men,  to  desert  him,  and  enter  into 
the  King's  service ;  and,  lastly,  that  the  King  had 
repented  of  giving  me  leave  to  go  to  Flanders,  and 
that,  to  counteract  my  brother,  a  plan  was  laid  to 
intercept  me  on  my  return,  either  by  the  Spaniards, 
for  which  purpose  they  had  been  told  that  I  had 
treated  for  delivering  up  the  country  to  him,  or  by 
the  Huguenots,  in  revenge  of  the  war  my  brother 
had  carried  on  against  them,  after  having  formerly 
assisted  them. 

This  intelligence  required  to  be  well  considered,  as 
there  seemed  to  be  an  utter  impossibility  of  avoiding 
both  parties.  I  had,  however,  the  pleasure  to  think 
that  two  of  the  principal  persons  of  my  company  stood 
well  with  either  one  or  another  party.  The  Cardinal 
de  Lenoncourt  had  been  thought  to  favour  the  Hugue- 
not party,  and  M.  Descarts,  brother  to  the  Bishop  of 
Lisieux,  was  supposed  to  have  the  Spanish  interest  at 
heart.  I  communicated  our  difficult  situation  to  the 
Princesse  de  Roche-sur-Yon  and  Madame  de  Tournon, 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  159 

who,  considering  that  we  could  not  reach  La  Fere  in 
less  than  five  or  six  days,  answered  me,  with  tears 
in  their  eyes,  that  God  only  had  it  in  his  power  to 
preserve  us,  that  I  should  recommend  myself  to  his 
protection,  and  then  follow  such  measures  as  should 
seem  advisable.  They  observed  that,  as  one  of  them 
was  in  a  weak  state  of  health,  and  the  other  advanced 
in  years,  I  might  affect  to  make  short  journeys  on 
their  account,  and  they  would  put  up  with  every  in- 
convenience to  extricate  me  from  the  danger  I  was  in. 

I  next  consulted  with  the  Bishop  of  Lidge,  who 
most  certainly  acted  towards  me  like  a  father,  and 
gave  directions  to  the  grand  master  of  his  household 
to  attend  me  with  his  horses  as  far  as  I  should  think 
proper.  As  it  was  necessary  that  we  should  have  a 
passport  from  the  Prince  of  Orange,  I  sent  Mondoucet 
to  him  to  obtain  one,  as  he  was  acquainted  with  the 
Prince  and  was  known  to  favour  his  religion.  Mon- 
doucet did  not  return,  and  I  believe  I  might  have 
waited  for  him  until  this  time  to  no  purpose.  I  was 
advised  by  the  Cardinal  de  Lenoncourt  and  my  first 
esquire,  the  Chevalier  Salviati,  who  were  of  the  same 
party,  not  to  stir  without  a  passport;  but,  as  I  sus- 
pected a  plan  was  laid  to  entrap  me,  I  resolved  to  set 
out  the  next  morning. 

They  now  saw  that  this  pretence  was  insufficient  to 
detain  me ;  accordingly,  the  Chevalier  Salviati  pre- 
vailed with  my  treasurer,  who  was  secretly  a  Hugue- 


160  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

not,  to  declare  he  had  not  money  enough  in  his  hands 
to  discharge  the  expenses  we  had  incurred  at  Liege, 
and  that,  in  consequence,  my  horses  were  detained. 
I  afterwards  discovered  that  this  was  false,  for,  on 
my  arrival  at  La  Fere,  I  called  for  his  accounts,  and 
found  he  had  then  a  balance  in  his  hands  which  would 
have  enabled  him  to  pay  the  expenses  of  my  family 
for  six  or  seven  weeks.  The  Princesse  de  Roche-sur- 
Yon,  incensed  at  the  aiTront  put  upon  me,  and  seeing 
the  danger  I  incurred  by  staying,  advanced  the  money 
that  was  required,  to  their  great  confusion  ;  and  I  took 
my  leave  of  his  Grace  the  Bishop,  presenting  him  with 
a  diamond  worth  three  thousand  crowns,  and  giving 
his  domestics  gold  chains  and  rings.  Having  thus 
taken  our  leave,  we  proceeded  to  Huy,  without  any 
other  passport  than  God's  good  providence. 

This  town,  as  I  observed  before,  belongs  to  the 
Bishop  of  Liege,  but  was  now  in  a  state  of  tumult  and 
confusion,  on  account  of  the  general  revolt  of  the  Low 
Countries,  the  townsmen  taking  part  with  the  Nether- 
landers,  notwithstanding  the  bishopric  was  a  neutral 
State.  On  this  account  they  paid  no  respect  to  the 
grand  master  of  the  Bishop's  household,  who  accom- 
panied us,  but,  knowing  Don  John  had  taken  the 
castle  of  Namur  in  order,  as  they  supposed,  to  inter- 
cept me  on  my  return,  these  brutal  people,  as  soon  as 
I  had  got  into  my  quarters,  rang  the  alarm-bell,  drew 
up  their  artillery,  placed  chains  across  the  streets,  and 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  161 

kept  us  thus  confined  and  separated  the  whole  night, 
giving  us  no  opportunity  to  expostulate  with  them  on 
such  conduct.  In  the  morning  we  were  suffered  to 
leave  the  town  without  further  molestation,  and  the 
streets  we  passed  through  were  lined  with  armed  men. 

From  there  we  proceeded  to  Dinant,  where  we  in- 
tended to  sleep ;  but,  unfortunately  for  us,  the  towns- 
people had  on  that  day  chosen  their  burghermasters, 
a  kind  of  officers  like  the  consuls  in  Gascony  and 
France.  In  consequence  of  this  election,  it  was  a  day 
of  tumult,  riot,  and  debauchery  ;  every  one  in  the  town 
was  drunk,  no  magistrate  was  acknowledged.  In  a 
word,  all  was  in  confusion.  To  render  our  situation 
still  worse,  the  grand  master  of  the  Bishop's  household 
had  formerly  done  the  town  some  ill  office,  and  was 
considered  as  its  enemy.  The  people  of  the  town, 
•when  in  their  sober  senses,  were  inclined  to  favour 
the  party  of  the  States,  but  under  the  influence  of 
Bacchus  they  paid  no  regard  to  any  party,  not  even 
to  themselves. 

As  soon  as  I  had  reached  the  suburbs,  they  were 
alarmed  at  the  number  of  my  company,  quitted  the 
bottle  and  glass  to  take  up  their  arms,  and  immedi- 
ately shut  the  gates  against  me.  I  had  sent  a  gentle- 
manbefore  me,  with  my  harbinger  and  quartermasters, 
to  beg  the  magistrates  to  admit  me  to  stay  one  night 
in  the  town,  but  I  found  my  officers  had  been  put  un- 
der an  arrest.     They  bawled  out  to  us  from  within,  to 


162  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

tell  us  their  situation,  but  could  not  make  themselues 
heard.  At  length  I  raised  myself  up  in  my  litter, 
and,  taking  off  my  mask,  made  a  sign  to  a  townsman 
nearest  me,  of  the  best  appearance,  that  I  was  desirous 
to  speak  with  him.  As  soon  as  he  drew  near  me,  I 
begged  him  to  call  out  for  silence,  which  being  with 
some  difficulty  obtained,  I  represented  to  him  who  I 
was,  and  the  occasion  of  my  journey ;  that  it  was  far 
from  my  intention  to  do  them  harm ;  but,  to  prevent 
any  suspicions  of  the  kind,  I  only  begged  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  go  into  their  city  with  my  women,  and  as 
few  others  of  my  attendants  as  they  thought  proper, 
and  that  we  might  be  permitted  to  stay  there  for  one 
night,  whilst  the  rest  of  my  company  remained  within 
the  suburbs. 

They  agreed  to  this  proposal,  and  opened  their 
gates  for  my  admission.  I  then  entered  the  city  with 
the  principal  persons  of  my  company,  and  the  grand 
master  of  the  Bishop's  household.  This  reverend  per- 
sonage, who  was  eighty  years  of  age,  and  wore  a  beard 
as  white  as  snow,  which  reached  down  to  his  girdle, — 
this  venerable  old  man,  I  say,  was  no  sooner  recog- 
nised by  the  drunken  and  armed  rabble  than  he  was 
accosted  with  the  grossest  abuse,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty they  were  restrained  from  laying  violent  hands 
upon  him.  At  length  I  got  him  into  my  lodgings, 
but  the  mob  fired  at  the  house,  the  walls  of  which 
were  only  of  plaster.     Upon  being  thus  attacked,  I 


MARGUERITE   DE    VALOIS.  163 

inquired  for  the  master  of  the  house,  who,  fortunately, 
was  within.  I  entreated  him  to  speak  from  the  win- 
dow, to  some  one  without,  to  obtain  permission  for  my 
being  heard.  I  had  some  difficulty  to  get  him  to 
venture  doing  so.  At  length,  after  much  bawling 
from  the  window,  the  burghermasters  came  to  speak 
to  me,  but  were  so  drunk  that  they  scarcely  knew 
what  they  said.  I  explained  to  them  that  I  was 
entirely  ignorant  that  the  grand  master  of  the  Bishop's 
household  was  a  person  to  whom  they  had  a  dislike, 
and  I  begged  them  to  consider  the  consequences  of 
giving  offence  to  a  person  like  me,  who  was  a  friend 
of  the  principal  lords  of  the  States,  and  I  assured 
them  that  the  Comte  de  Lalain,  in  particular,  would 
be  greatly  displeased  when  he  should  hear  how  I  had 
been  received  there. 

The  name  of  the  Comte  de  Lalain  produced  an 
instant  effect,  much  more  than  if  I  had  mentioned  all 
the  sovereign  princes  I  was  related  to.  The  principal 
person  amongst  them  asked  me,  with  some  hesitation 
and  stammering,  if  I  was  really  a  particular  friend 
of  the  Count's.  Perceiving  that  to  claim  kindred  with 
the  Count  would  do  me  more  service  than  being 
related  to  all  the  Powers  in  Christendom,  I  answered 
that  I  was  both  a  friend  and  a  relation.  They  then 
made  me  many  apologies  and  conges,  stretching  forth 
their  hands  in  token  of  friendship;  in  short,  they  now. 
behaved  with  as  much  civility  as  before  with  rudeness. 


164  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

They  begged  my  pardon  for  what  had  happened,  and 
promised  that  the  good  old  man,  the  grand  master  of 
the  Bishop's  household,  should  be  no  more  insulted, 
but  be  suffered  to  leave  the  city  quietly,  the  next 
morning,  with  me. 

As  soon  as  morning  came,  and  while  I  was  prepar- 
ing to  go  to  hear  mass,  there  arrived  the  King's  agent 
to  Don  John,  named  Du  Bois,  a  man  much  attached 
to  the  Spanish  interest.  He  informed  me  that  he  had 
received  orders  from  the  King  my  brother  to  conduct 
me  in  safety  on  my  return.  He  said  that  he  had  pre- 
vailed on  Don  John  to  permit  Barlemont  to  escort  me 
to  Namur  with  a  troop  of  cavalry,  and  begged  me  to 
obtain  leave  of  the  citizens  to  admit  Barlemont  and 
his  troop  to  enter  the  town  that;  they  might  receive 
my  orders. 

Thus  had  they  concerted  a  double  plot ;  the  one  to 
get  possession  of  the  town,  the  other  of  my  person. 
I  saw  through  the  whole  design,  and  consulted  with 
the  Cardinal  de  Lenoncourt,  communicating  to  him 
my  suspicions.  The  Cardinal  was  as  unwilling  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  as  I  could  be;  he 
therefore  thought  it  advisable  to  acquaint  the  towns- 
people with  the  plot,  and  make  our  escape  from  the 
city  by  another  road,  in  order  to  avoid  meeting  Barle- 
mont's  troop.  It  was  agreed  betwixt  us  that  the 
Cardinal  should  keep  Du  Bois  in  discourse,  whilst  I 
consulted  the  principal  citizens  in  another  apartment. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  165 

Accordingly,  I  assembled  as  many  as  I  could,  to  whom 
I  represented  that  if  they  admitted  Barlemont  and  his 
troop  within  the  town,  he  would  most  certainly  take 
possession  of  it  for  Don  John.  I  gave  it  as  my  advice 
to  make  a  show  of  defence,  to  declare  they  would  not 
be  taken  by  surprise,  and  to  offer  to  admit  Barlemont, 
and  no  one  else,  within  their  gates.  They  resolved 
to  act  according  to  my  counsel,  and  offered  to  serve 
me  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives.  They  promised  to 
procure  me  a  guide,  who  should  conduct  me  by  a  road 
by  following  which  I  should  put  the  river  betwixt  me 
and  Don  John's  forces,  whereby  I  should  be  out  of 
his  reach,  and  could  be  lodged  in  houses  and  towns 
which  were  in  the  interest  of  the  States  only. 

This  point  being  settled,  I  despatched  them  to  give 
admission  to  M.  de  Barlemont,  who,  as  soon  as  he 
entered  within  the  gates,  begged-  hard  that  his  troop 
might  come  in  likewise.  Hereupon,  the  citizens  flew 
into  a  violent  rage,  and  were  near  putting  him  to 
death.  They  told  him  that  if  he  did  not  order  his 
men  out  of  sight  of  the  town,  they  would  fire  upon 
them  with  their  great  guns.  This  was  done  with 
design  to  give  me  time  to  leave  the  town  before  they 
could  follow  in  pursuit  of  me.  M.  de  Barlemont  and 
the  agent,  Du  Bois,  used  every  argument  they  could 
devise  to  persuade  me  to  go  to  Namur,  where  they 
said  Don  John  waited  to  receive  me. 

I  appeared  to  give  way  to  their  persuasions,  and, 


166  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

after  hearing  mass  and  taking  a  hasty  dinner,  I  left 
my  lodgings,  escorted  by  two  or  three  hundred  armed 
citizens,  some  of  them  engaging  Barlemont  and  Du 
Bois  in  conversation.  We  all  took  the  way  to  the 
gate  which  opens  to  the  river,  and  directly  opposite 
to  that  leading  to  Namur.  Du  Bois  and  his  colleague 
told  me  I  was  not  going  the  right  way,  but  I  continued 
talking,  and  as  if  I  did  not  hear  them.  But  when  we 
reached  the  gate  I  hastened  into  the  boat,  and  my 
people  after  me.  M.  de  Barlemont  and  the  agent 
Du  Bois,  calling  out  to  me  from  the  bank,  told  me  I 
was  doing  very  wrong  and  acting  directly  contrary 
to  the  King's  intention,  who  had  directed  that  I  should 
return  by  way  of  Namur. 

In  spite  of  all  their  remonstrances  we  crossed  the 
river  with  all  possible  expedition,  and,  during  the  two 
or  three  crossings  which  were  necessary  to  convey 
over  the  litters  and  horses,  the  citizens,  to  give  me  the 
more  time  to  escape,  were  debating  with  Barlemont 
and  Du  Bois  concerning  a  niunber  of  grievances  and 
complaints,  telling  them,  in  their  coarse  language,  that 
Don  John  had  broken  the  peace  and  falsified  his  en- 
gagements with  the  States ;  and  they  even  rehearsed 
the  old  quarrel  of  the  death  of  Egmont,  and,  lastly, 
declared  that  if  the  troop  made  its  appearance  before 
their  walls  again,  they  would  fire  upon  it  with  their 
artillery. 

I  had  by  this  means  sufficient  time  to  reach  a  secure 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  167 

distance,  and  was,  by  the  help  of  God  and  the  assist- 
ance of  my  guide,  out  of  all  apprehensions  of  danger 
from  Barlemont  and  his  troop. 

I  intended  to  lodge  that  night  in  a  strong  castle, 
called  Fleurines,  which  belonged  to  a  gentleman  of 
the  party  of  the  States,  whom  I  had  seen  with  the 
Comte  de  Lalain.  Unfortunately  for  me,  the  gentle- 
man was  absent,  and  his  lady  only  was  in  the  castle. 
The  courtyard  being  open,  we  entered  it,  which  put 
the  lady  into  such  a  fright  that  she  ordered  the  bridge 
to  be  drawn  up,  and  fled  to  the  strong  tower.^  Noth- 
ing we  could  say  would  induce  her  to  give  us  entrance. 
In  the  meantime,  three  hundred  gentlemen,  whom 
Don  John  had  sent  off  to  intercept  our  passage,  and 
take  possession  of  the  castle  of  Fleurines,  judging  that 
I  should  take  up  my  quarters  there,  made  their  ap- 
pearance upon  an  eminence,  at  the  distance  of  about 
a  thousand  yards.  They,  seeing  our  carriages  in  the 
courtyard,  and  supposing  that  we  ourselves  had  taken 
to  the  strong  tower,  resolved  to  stay  where  they  were 
that  night,  hoping  to  intercept  me  the  next  morning. 

In  this  cruel  situation  were  we  placed,  in  a  court- 
yard surrounded  by  a  wall  by  no  means  strong,  and 
shut  up  by  a  gate  equally  as  weak  and  as  capable  of 
being  forced,  remonstrating  from  time  to  time  with 
the  lady,  who  was  deaf  to  all  our  prayers  and 
entreaties. 

1  In  the  old  French  original,  dongeon,  whence  we  have  duugeon. 


168  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Through  God's  mercy,  her  husband,  M.  de  Fleurines, 
himself  appeared  just  as  night  approached.  We  then 
gained  instant  admission,  and  the  lady  was  greatly 
reprimanded  by  her  husband  for  her  incivility  and  in- 
discreet behaviour.  This  gentleman  had  been  sent 
by  the  Comte  de  Lalain,  with  directions  to  conduct 
me  through  the  several  towns  belonging  to  the  States, 
the  Count  himself  not  being  able  to  leave  the  army 
of  the  States,  of  which  he  had  the  chief  command, 
to  accompany  me. 

This  was  as  favourable  a  circumstance  for  me  as  I 
could  wish ;  for,  M.  de  Fleurines  offering  to  accom- 
pany me  into  France,  the  towns  we  had  to  pass 
through  being  of  the  party  of  the  States,  we  were 
everywhere  quietly  and  honourably  received.  I  had 
only  the  mortification  of  not  being  able  to  visit  Mons, 
agreeably  to  my  promise  made  to  the  Comtesse  de 
Lalain,  not  passing  nearer  to  it  than  Nivelle,  seven 
long  leagues  distant  from  it.  The  Count  being  at 
Antwerp,  and  the  war  being  hottest  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Mons,  I  thus  was  prevented  seeing  either  of 
them  on  my  return.  I  could  only  write  to  the  Count- 
ess by  a  servant  of  the  gentleman  who  was  now  my 
conductor.  As  soon  as  she  learned  I  was  at  Nivelle, 
she  sent  some  gentlemen,  natives  of  the  part  of  Flan- 
ders I  was  in,  with  a  strong  injunction  to  see  me  safe 
on  the  frontier  of  France. 

I  had  to  pass  through   the   Cambr^sis,  partly  in 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  169 

favour  of  Spain  and  partly  of  the  States.  Accordinglj, 
I  set  out  with  these  gentlemen,  to  lodge  at  Cateau- 
Cambrdsis.  There  they  took  leave  of  me,  in  order 
to  return  to  Mons,  and  by  them  I  sent  the  Countess  a 
gown  of  mine,  which  had  been  greatly  admired  by  her 
when  I  wore  it  at  Mons ;  it  was  of  black  satin,  curi- 
ously embroidered,  and  cost  nine  hundred  crowns. 

When  I  arrived  at  Cateau-Cambresis,  I  had  intelli- 
gence sent  me  that  a  party  of  the  Huguenot  troops 
had  a  design  to  attack  me  on  the  frontiers  of  Flanders 
and  France.  This  intelligence  I  communicated  to  a 
few  only  of  my  company,  and  prepared  to  set  off  an 
hour  before  daybreak.  When  I  sent  for  my  litters 
and  horses,  I  found  much  such  a  kind  of  delay  from 
the  Chevalier  Salviati  as  I  had  before  experienced  at 
Liege,  and  suspecting  it  was  done  designedly,  I  left 
my  litter  behind,  and  mounted  on  horseback,  with 
such  of  my  attendants  as  were  ready  to  follow  me. 
By  this  means,  with  God's  assistance,  I  escaped  being 
waylaid  by  my  enemies,  and  reached  Catelet  at  ten  in 
the  morning.  From  there  I  went  to  my  house  at  La 
Fdre,  where  I  intended  to  reside  until  I  learned  that 
peace  was  concluded  upon. 

At  La  Fere  I  found  a  messenger  in  waiting  from 
my  brother,  who  had  orders  to  return  with  all  expe- 
dition, as  soon  as  I  arrived,  and  inform  him  of  it. 
My  brother  wrote  me  word,  by  that  messenger,  that 
peace  was  concluded,  and  the  King  returned  to  Paris ; 


ITO  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

that,  as  to  himself,  his  situation  was  rather  worse 
than  better ;  that  he  and  his  people  were  daily  receiv- 
ing some  affront  or  other,  and  continual  quarrels  were 
excited  betwixt  the  King's  favourites  and  Bussi  and 
mj  brother's  principal  attendants.  This,  he  added, 
had  made  him  impatient  for  my  return,  that  he  might 
come  and  visit  me. 

I  sent  his  messenger  back,  and,  immediately  after, 
my  brother  sent  Bussi  and  all  his  household  to 
Angers,  and,  taking  with  him  fifteen  or  twenty  at- 
tendants, he  rode  post  to  me  at  La  Fere.  It  was 
a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  see  one  whom  I  so 
tenderly  loved  and  greatly  honoured,  once  more.  I 
consider  it  amongst  the  greatest  felicities  I  ever 
enjoyed,  and,  accordingly,  it  became  my  chief  study 
to  make  his  residence  here  agreeable  to  him.  He 
himself  seemed  delighted  with  this  change  of  situa- 
tion, and  would  willingly  have  continued  in  it  longer 
had  not  the  noble  generosity  of  his  mind  called  him 
forth  to  great  achievements.  The  quiet  of  our  Court, 
when  compared  with  that  he  had  just  left,  affected 
him  so  powerfully  that  he  could  not  but  express  the 
satisfaction  he  felt  by  frequently  exclaiming,  "  Oh, 
Queen !  how  happy  I  am  with  you.  My  God !  your 
society  is  a  paradise  wherein  I  enjoy  every  delight, 
and  I  seem  to  have  lately  escaped  from  hell,  with  all 
its  furies  and  tortures ! " 


LETTER  XYII. 

Good  Effects  of  Queen  Marguerite's  Negotiations  in  Flanders. 
—  She  Obtains  Leave  to  Go  to  the  King  of  Navarre  Her 
Husband,  but  Her  Journey  Is  Delayed.  —  Court  Intrigues 
and  Plots.  —  The  Due  d'Alengon  Again  Put  under  Arrest. 

We  passed  nearly  two  months  together,  which 
appeared  to  us  only  as  so  many  days.  I  gave  him 
an  account  of  what  I  had  done  for  him  in  Flanders, 
and  the  state  in  which  I  had  left  the  business. 
He  approved  of  the  interview  with  the  Comte  de  La- 
Iain's  brother  in  order  to  settle  the  plan  of  operations 
and  exchange  assurances.  Accordingly,  the  Comte 
de  Montigny  arrived,  with  four  or  five  other  leading 
men  of  the  county  of  Hainault.  One  of  these  was 
charged  with  a  letter  from  M.  d'Ainsi,  offering  his 
services  to  my  brother,  and  assuring  him  of  the 
citadel  of  Cambray.  M.  de  Montigny  delivered  his 
brother's  declaration  and  engagement  to  give  up 
the  counties  of  Hainault  and  Artois,  which  included 
a  number  of  fine  cities.  These  offers  made  and 
accepted,  my  brother  dismissed  them  with  presents 
of   gold  medals,   bearing   his  and   my   effigies,   and 

171 


172  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

every  assurance  of  his  future  favour ;  and  they  re- 
turned to  prepare  everything  for  his  coming.  In  the 
meanwhile  my  brother  considered  on  the  necessary 
measures  to  be  used  for  raising  a  sufficient  force,  for 
which  purpose  he  returned  to  the  King,  to  prevail 
with  him  to  assist  him  in  this  enterprise. 

As  I  was  anxious  to  go  to  Gascony,  I  made  ready 
for  the  journey,  and  set  off  for  Paris,  my  brother 
meeting  me  at  the  distance  of  one  day's  journey. 

At  St.  Denis  I  was  met  by  the  King,  the  Queen 
my  mother,  Queen  Louise,  and  the  whole  Court.  It 
was  at  St.  Denis  that  I  was  to  stop  and  dine,  and 
there  it  was  that  I  had  the  honour  of  the  meeting^ 
I  have  just  mentioned. 

I  was  received  very  graciously,  and  most  sump- 
tuously entertained.  I  was  made  to  recount  the 
particulars  of  my  triumphant  journey  to  Liege,  and 
perilous  return.  The  magnificent  entertainments  I 
had  received  excited  their  admiration,  and  they  re- 
joiced at  my  narrow  escapes.  With  such  conversation 
I  amused  the  Queen  my  mother  and  the  rest  of  the 
company  in  her  coach,  on  our  way  to  Paris,  where, 
supper  and  the  ball  being  ended,  I  took  an  oppor- 
tunity, when  I  saw  the  King  and  the  Queen  my 
mother  together,  to  address  them. 

I  expressed  my  hopes  that  they  would  not  now 
oppose  my  going  to  the  King  my  husband ;  that 
now,   by   the  peace,  the   chief   objection    to  it  was 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  1T3 

removed,  and  if  I  delayed  going,  in  the  present  situa- 
ation  of  afTairs,  it  might  be  prejudicial  and  discredit- 
able to  me.  Both  of  them  approved  of  my  request, 
and  commended  my  resolution.  The  Queen  my 
mother  added  that  she  would  accompany  me  on 
my  journey,  as  it  would  be  for  the  King's  service  that 
she  did  so.  She  said  the  King  must  furnish  me  with 
the  necessary  means  for  the  journey,  to  which  he 
readily  assented.  I  thought  this  a  proper  time  to 
settle  everything,  and  prevent  another  journey  to 
Court,  which  would  be  no  longer  pleasing  after  my 
brother  left  it,  who  was  now  pressing  his  expedition 
to  Flanders  with  all  haste.  I  therefore  begged  the 
Queen  my  mother  to  recollect  the  promise  she  had 
made  my  brother  and  me  as  soon  as  peace  was  agreed 
upon,  which  was  that,  before  my  departure  for  Gas- 
cony,  I  should  have  my  marriage  portion  assigned 
to  me  in  lands.  She  said  that  she  recollected  it  well, 
and  the  King  thought  it  very  reasonable,  and  prom- 
ised that  it  should  be  done.  I  entreated  that  it 
might  be  concluded  speedily,  as  I  wished  to  set  off, 
with  their  permission,  at  the  beginning  of  the  next 
month.  This,  too,  was  granted  me,  but  granted  after 
the  mode  of  the  Court ;  that  is  to  say,  notwithstand- 
ing my  constant  solicitations,  instead  of  despatch, 
I  experienced  only  delay ;  and  thus  it  continued  for 
five  or  six  months  in  negotiation. 

My  brother  met  with  the  like  treatment,  though  he 


174  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

■was  continually  urging  the  necessity  for  his  setting 
out  for  Flanders,  and  representing  that  his  expedition 
was  for  the  glory  and  advantage  of  France,  —  for  its 
glory,  as  such  an  enterprise  would,  like  Piedmont, 
prove  a  school  of  war  for  the  young  nobility,  wherein 
future  Montlucs,  Brissacs,  Termes,  and  Bellegardes 
would  be  bred,  all  of  them  instructed  in  these  wars, 
and  afterwards,  as  field-marshals,  of  the  greatest  ser- 
vice to  their  country ;  and  it  would  be  for  the  advan- 
tage of  France,  as  it  would  prevent  civil  wars ;  for 
Flanders  would  then  be  no  longer  a  country  wherein 
such  discontented  spirits  as  aimed  at  novelty  could 
assemble  to  brood  over  their  malice  and  hatch  plots 
for  the  disturbance  of  their  native  land. 

These  representations,  which  were  both  reasonable 
and  consonant  with  truth,  had  no  weight  when  put 
into  the  scale  against  the  envy  excited  by  this  ad- 
vancement of  my  brother's  fortune.  Accordingly, 
every  delay  was  used  to  hinder  him  from  collecting 
his  forces  together,  and  stop  his  expedition  to  Flan- 
ders. Bussi  and  his  other  dependents  were  offered  a 
thousand  indignities.  Every  stratagem  was  tried,  by 
day  as  well  as  by  night,  to  pick  quarrels  with  Bussi, 
—  now  by  Quelus,  at  another  time  by  Grammont, — 
with  the  hope  that  my  brother  would  engage  in  them. 
This  was  unknown  to  the  King ;  but  Maugiron,  who 
had  engrossed  the  King's  favour,  and  who  had  quitted 
my  brother's  service,  sought  every  means  to  ruin  him, 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  175 

as  it  is  usual  for  those  who  have  given  offence  to  hate 
the  offended  party. 

Thus  did  this  man  take  every  occasion  to  brave 
and  insult  my  brother ;  and  relying  upon  the  coun- 
tenance and  blind  affection  shown  him  by  the  King, 
had  leagued  himself  with  Quelus,  Saint-Luc,  Saint- 
Maigrin,  Grammont,  Mauleon,  Hivarrot,  and  other 
young  men  who  enjoyed  the  King's  favour.  As  those 
who  are  favourites  find  a  number  of  followers  at 
Court,  these  licentious  young  courtiers  thought  they 
might  do  whatever  they  pleased.  Some  new  dispute 
betwixt  them  and  Bussi  was  constantly  starting. 
Bussi  had  a  degree  of  courage  which  knew  not  how 
to  give  way  to  any  one ;  and  my  brother,  unwilling  to 
give  umbrage  to  the  King,  and  foreseeing  that  such 
proceedings  would  not  forward  his  expedition,  to 
avoid  quarrels  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  promote  his 
plans,  resolved  to  despatch  Bussi  to  his  duchy  of 
Alengon,  in  order  to  discipline  such  troops  as  he 
should  find  there.  My  brother's  amiable  qualities 
excited  the  jealousy  of  Maugiron  and  the  rest  of  his 
cabal  about  the  King's  person,  and  their  dislike  for 
Bussi  was  not  so  much  on  his  own  account  as  because 
he  was  strongly  attached  to  my  brother.  The  slights 
and  disrespect  shown  to  my  brother  were  remarked 
by  every  one  at  Court;  but  his  prudence,  and  the 
patience  natural  to  his  disposition,  enabled  him  to 
put  up  with  their  insults,  in  hopes  of  finishing  the 


176  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

business  of  his  Flemish  expedition,  which  would  re- 
move him  to  a  distance  from  them  and  their  machi- 
nations. This  persecution  was  the  more  mortifying 
and  discreditable  as  it  even  extended  to  his  servants, 
whom  they  strove  to  injure  by  every  means  they 
could  employ.  M.  de  la  Chastre  at  this  time  had  a 
a  lawsuit  of  considerable  consequence  decided  against 
him,  because  he  had  lately  attached  himself  to  my 
brother.  At  the  instance  of  Maugiron  and  Saint-Luc, 
the  King  was  induced  to  solicit  the  cause  in  favour 
of  Madame  de  S^netaire,  their  friend.  M.  de  la 
Chastre,  being  greatly  injured  by  it,  complained  to 
my  brother  of  the  injustice  done  him,  with  all  the 
concern  such  a  proceeding  may  be  supposed  to  have 
occasioned. 

About  this  time  Saint-Luc's  marriage  was  cele- 
brated. My  brother  resolved  not  to  be  present  at  it, 
and  begged  of  me  to  join  him  in  the  same  resolution. 
The  Queen  my  mother  was  greatly  uneasy  on  account 
of  the  behaviour  of  these  young  men,  fearing  that,  if 
my  brother  did  not  join  them  in  this  festivity,  it 
might  be  attended  with  some  bad  consequence,  espe- 
cially as  the  day  was  likely  to  produce  scenes  of 
revelry  and  debauch ;  she,  therefore,  prevailed  on  the 
King  to  permit  her  to  dine  on  the  wedding-day  at 
St.  Maur,  and  take  my  brother  and  me  with  her. 
This  was  the  day  before  Shrove  Tuesday ;  and  we 
returned  in  the  evening,  the  Queen  my  mother  having 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  177 

well  lectured  my  brother,  and  made  him  consent  to 
appear  at  the  ball,  in  order  not  to  displease  the  King. 
But  this  rather  served  to  make  matters  worse  than 
better,  for  Maugiron  and  his  party  began  to  attack 
him  with  such  insolent  speeches  as  would  have  of- 
fended any  one  of  far  less  consequence.  They  said  he 
needed  not  to  have  given  himself  the  trouble  of  dress- 
ing, for  he  was  not  missed  in  the  afternoon ;  but  now, 
they  supposed,  he  came  at  night  as  the  most  suitable 
time ;  with  other  allusions  to  the  meanness  of  his  fig- 
ure and  smallness  of  stature.  All  this  was  addressed 
to  the  bride,  who  sat  near  him,  but  spoken  out  on 
purpose  that  he  might  hear  it.  Mv  brother,  perceiv- 
ing this  was  purposely  said  to  provoke  an  answer  and 
occasion  his  giving  offence  to  the  King,  removed  from 
his  seat  full  of  resentment;  and,  consulting  with  M. 
de  la  Chastre,  he  came  to  the  resolution  of  leaving 
the  Court  in  a  few  days  on  a  hunting  party.  He  still 
thought  his  absence  might  stay  their  malice,  and 
afford  him  an  opportunity  the  more  easily  of  settling 
his  preparations  for  the  Flemish  expedition  with  the 
King.  He  went  immediately  to  the  Queen  my  mother, 
who  was  present  at  the  ball,  and  was  extremely  sorry 
to  learn  what  had  happened,  and  imparted  her  resolu- 
tion, in  his  absence,  to  solicit  the  King  to  hasten  his 
expedition  to  Flanders.  M.  de  Villequier  being  pres- 
ent, she  bade  him  acquaint  the  King  with  my  brother's 
intention  of  taking  the  diversion  of  hunting  a  few 


178  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

days ;  which  she  thought  very  proper  herself,  as  it 
would  put  a  stop  to  the  disputes  which  had  arisen 
betwixt  him  and  the  young  men,  Maugiron,  Saint- 
Luc,  Quelus,  and  the  rest. 

My  brother  retired  to  his  apartment,  and,  consider- 
ing his  leave  as  granted,  gave  orders  to  his  domestics 
to  prepare  to  set  off  the  next  morning  for  St.  Ger- 
main, where  he  should  hunt  the  stag  for  a  few  days. 
He  directed  the  grand  huntsman  to  be  ready  with  the 
hounds,  and  retired  to  rest,  thinking  to  withdraw 
awhile  from  the  intrigues  of  the  Court,  and  amuse 
himself  with  the  sports  of  the  field.  M.  de  Yillequier, 
agreeably  to  the  command  he  had  received  from  the 
Queen  my  mother,  asked  for  leave,  and  obtained  it.  The 
King,  however,  staying  in  his  closet,  like  Rehoboam, 
with  his  council  of  five  or  six  young  men,  they  sug- 
gested suspicions  in  his  mind  respecting  my  brother's 
departure  from  Court.  In  short,  they  worked  upon 
his  fears  and  apprehensions  so  greatly,  that  he  took 
one  of  the  most  rash  and  inconsiderate  steps  that  was 
ever  decided  upon  in  our  time  ;  which  was  to  put  my 
brother  and  all  his  principal  servants  under  an  arrest. 
This  measure  was  executed  with  as  much  indiscretion 
as  it  had  been  resolved  upon.  The  King,  under  this 
agitation  of  mind,  late  as  it  was,  hastened  to  the 
Queen  my  mother,  and  seemed  as  if  there  was  a  gen- 
eral alarm  and  the  enemy  at  the  gates,  for  he  ex- 
claimed on  seeing  her :    "  How  could  you,  Madame, 


MARGUERITE    DE    V ALOIS.  179 

think  of  asking  me  to  let  my  brother  go  hence  ?  Do 
you  not  perceive  how  dangerous  his  going  will  prove 
to  my  kingdom  ?  Depend  upon  it  that  this  hunting 
is  merely  a  pretence  to  cover  some  treacherous  de- 
sign. I  am  going  to  put  him  and  his  people  under 
an  arrest,  and  have  his  papers  examined.  I  am  sure 
we  shall  make  some  great  discoveries." 

At  the  time  he  said  this  he  had  with  him  the  Sieur 
de  Coss^,  captain  of  the  guard,  and  a  number  of  Scot- 
tish archers.  The  Queen  my  mother,  fearing,  from 
the  King's  haste  and  trepidation,  that  some  mischief 
might  happen  to  my  brother,  begged  to  go  with  him. 
Accordingly,  undressed  as  she  was,  wrapping  herself 
up  in  a  night-gown,  she  followed  the  King  to  my 
brother's  bedchamber.  The  King  knocked  at  the 
door  with  great  violence,  ordering  it  to  be  immedi- 
ately opened,  for  that  he  was  there  himself.  My 
brother  started  up  in  his  bed,  awakened  by  the  noise, 
and,  knowing  that  he  had  done  nothing  that  he  need 
fear,  ordered  Cang^,  his  valet  de  chambre,  to  open  the 
door.  The  King  entered  in  a  great  rage,  and  asked 
him  when  he  would  have  done  plotting  against  him. 
"  But  I  will  show  you,"  said  he,  "  what  it  is  to  plot 
against  your  sovereign."  Hereupon  he  ordered  the 
archers  to  take  away  all  the  trunks,  and  turn  the  va- 
lets de  chambre  out  of  the  room.  He  searched  my 
brother's  bed  himself,  to  see  if  he  could  find  any 
papers  concealed  in  it.     My  brother  had  that  evening 


180  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

received  a  letter  from  Madame  de  Sauves,  which  he 
kept  in  his  hand,  unwilling  that  it  should  be  seen. 
The  King  endeavoured  to  force  it  from  him.  He 
refused  to  part  with  it,  and  earnestly  entreated  the 
King  would  not  insist  upon  seeing  it.  This  only  ex- 
cited the  King's  anxiety  the  more  to  have  it  in  his  / 
possession,  as  he  now  supposed  it  to  be  the  key  to 
the  whole  plot,  and'  the  very  document  which  would 
at  once  bring  conviction  home  to  him.  At  length,  the 
King  having  got  it  into  his  hands,  he  opened  it  in 
the  presence  of  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  they  were 
both  as  much  confounded,  when  they  read  the  con- 
tents, as  Cato  was  when  he  obtained  a  letter  from 
Caesar,  in  the  Senate,  which  the  latter  was  unwilling 
to  give  up ;  and  which  Cato,  supposing  it  to  contain  a 
conspiracy  against  the  Republic,  found  to  be  no  other 
than  a  love-letter  from  his  own  sister. 

But  the  shame  of  this  disappointment  served  only 
to  increase  the  King's  anger,  who,  without  condescend- 
ing to  make  a  reply  to  my  brother,  when  repeatedly 
asked  what  he  had  been  accused  of,  gave  him  in 
charge  of  M.  de  Coss^  and  his  Scots,  commanding 
them  not  to  admit  a  single  person  to  speak  with  him. 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  my  brother 
was  made  a  prisoner  in  the  manner  I  have  now 
related.  He  feared  some  fatal  event  might  succeed 
these  violent  proceedings,  and  he  was  under  the  great- 
est concern  on  my  account,  supposing  me  to  be  under 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  181 

a  like  arrest.  He  observed  M.  de  Coss^  to  be  much 
affected  by  the  scene  he  had  been  witness  to,  even  to 
shedding  tears.  As  the  archers  were  in  the  room  he 
would  not  venture  to  enter  into  discourse  with  him, 
but  only  asked  what  was  become  of  me.  M.  de  Coss^ 
answered  that  I  remained  at  full  liberty.  My  brother 
then  said  it  was  a  great  comfort  to  him  to  hear  that 
news ;  "  but,"  added  he,  "  as  I  know  she  loves  me  so 
entirely  that  she  would  rather  be  confined  with  me 
than  have  her  liberty  whilst  I  was  in  confinement,  I 
beg  you  will  go  to  the  Queen  my  mother,  and  desire 
her  to  obtain  leave  for  my  sister  to  be  with  me."  He 
did  so,  and  it  was  granted. 

The  reliance  which  my  brother  displayed  upon  this 
occasion  in  the  sincerity  of  my  friendship  and  regard 
for  him  conferred  so  great  an  obligation  in  my  mind 
that,  though  I  have  received  many  particular  favours 
since  from  him,  this  has  always  held  the  foremost 
place  in  my  grateful  remembrance. 

By  the  time  he  had  received  permission  for  my 
being  with  him,  daylight  made  its  appearance.  See- 
ing this,  my  brother  begged  M.  de  Coss^  to  send  one 
of  his  archers  to  acquaint  me  with  his  situation,  and 
beg  me  to  come  to  him. 


LETTER   XVin.  . 

The  Brothers  Reconciled.  —  Alengon  Restored  to  His  Liberty. 

I  WAS  ignorant  of  what  had  happened  to  my  brother, 
and  when  the  Scottish  archer  came  into  my  bed- 
chamber, I  was  still  asleep.  He  drew  the  curtains 
of  the  bed,  and  told  me,  in  his  broken  French,  that 
my  brother  wished  to  see  me.  I  stared  at  the  man, 
half  awake  as  I  was,  and  thought  it  a  dream.  After 
a  short  pause,  and  being  thoroughly  awakened,  I 
asked  him  if  he  was  not  a  Scottish  archer.  He 
answered  me  in  the  affirmative.  "  What !  "  cried  I, 
"  has  my  brother  no  one  else  to  send  a  message  by  ?  " 
He  replied  he  had  not,  for  all  his  domestics  had  been 
put  under  an  arrest.  He  then  proceeded  to  relate, 
as  well  as  he  could  explain  himself,  the  events  of  the 
preceding  night,  and  the  leave  granted  my  brother  for 
my  being  with  him  during  his  imprisonment. 

The  poor  fellow,  observing  me  to  be  much  affected 
by  this  intelligence,  drew  near,  and  whispered  me  to 
this  purport :  "  Do  not  grieve  yourself  about  this 
matter ;  I  know  a  way  of  setting  your  brother  at 
liberty,  and  you  may  depend  upon  it,  that  I  will  do 
it;  but,  in  that  case,  I  must  go   oif  with  him."     I 

182 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  183 

assured  him  that  he  might  rely  upon  being  as  amply 
rewarded  as  he  could  wish  for  such  assistance,  and, 
huddling  on  my  clothes,  I  followed  him  alone  to  my 
brother's  apartments.  In  going  thither,  I  had  occa- 
sion to  traverse  the  whole  gallery,  which  was  filled 
with  people,  who,  at  another  time,  would  have  pressed 
forward  to  pay  their  respects  to  me ;  but,  now  that 
Fortune  seemed  to  frown  upon  me,  they  all  avoided 
me,  or  appeared  as  if  they  did  not  see  me. 

Coming  into  my  brother's  apartments,  I  found  him 
not  at  all  affected  by  what  had  happened ;  for  such 
was  the  constancy  of  his  mind,  that  his  arrest  had 
wrought  no  change,  and  he  received  me  with  his 
usual  cheerfulness.  He  ran  to  meet  me,  and  taking 
me  in  his  arms,  he  said : 

"  Queen !  I  beg  you  to  dry  up  your  tears ;  in  my 
present  situation,  nothing  can  grieve  me  so  much  as 
to  find  you  under  any  concern;  for  my  own  part,  I 
am  so  conscious  of  my  innocence  and  the  integrity 
of  my  conduct,  that  I  can  defy  the  utmost  malice  of 
my  enemies.  If  I  should  chance  to  fall  the  victim  of 
their  injustice,  my  death  would  prove  a  more  cruel 
punishment  to  them  than  to  me,  who  have  courage 
sufficient  to  meet  it  in  a  just  cause.  It  is  not  death  I 
fear,  because  I  have  tasted  sufficiently  of  the  calamities 
and  evils  of  life,  and  am  ready  to  leave  this  world, 
which  I  have  found  only  the  abode  of  sorrow ;  but 
the  circumstance  I  dread  most  is,  that,  not  finding 


184  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

me  sufficiently  guilty  to  doom  me  to  death,  I  shall  be 
condemned  to  a  long,  solitary  imprisonment ;  though 
I  should  even  despise  their  tyranny  in  that  respect, 
could  I  but  have  the  assurance  of  being  comforted  by 
your  presence."  ^ 

These  words,  instead  of  stopping  my  tears,  only 
served  to  make  them  stream  afresh.  I  answered, 
sobbing,  that  my  life  and  fortune  were  at  his  devotion ; 
that  the  power  of  God  alone  could  prevent  me  from 
affording  him  my  assistance  under  every  extremity ; 
that,  if  he  should  be  transported  from  that  place,  and 
I  should  be  withheld  from  following  him,  I  would 
kill  myself  on  the  spot. 

Changing  our  discourse,  we  framed  a  number  of 
conjectures  on  what  might  be  the  probable  cause 
of  the  King's  angry  proceedings  against  him,  but 
found  ourselves  at  a  loss  what  to  assign  them  to. 

Whilst  we  were  discussing  this  matter  the  hour 
came  for  opening  the  palace  gates,  when  a  simple 
young  man  belonging  to  Bussi  presented  himself  for 
entrance.  Being  stopped  by  the  guard  and  questioned 
as  to  whither  he  was  going,  he,  panic-struck,  replied 
he  was  going  to  M.  de  Bussi,  his  master.  This  an- 
swer was  carried  to  the  King,  and  gave  fresh  grounds 
for  suspicion.  It  seems  my  brother,  supposing  he 
should  not  be  able  to  go  to  Flanders  for  some  time, 
and  resolving  to  send  Bussi  to  his  duchy  of  Alen^on 
as  I  have  already  mentioned,  had  lodged  him  in  the 


MARGUERITE   DE   VALOIS.  185 

Louvre,  that  he  might  be  near  him  to  take  instruc- 
tions at  every  opportunity. 

L'Archant,  the  general  of  the  guard,  had  received 
the  King's  commands  to  make  a  search  in  the  Louvre 
for  him  and  Simier,  and  put  them  both  under  arrest. 
He  entered  upon  this  business  with  great  unwilling- 
ness, as  he  was  intimate  with  Bussi,  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  call  him  "  father."  L'Archant,  going  to 
Simier's  apartment,  arrested  him ;  and  though  he 
judged  Bussi  was  there  too,  yet,  being  unwilling  to 
find  him,  he  was  going  away.  Bussi,  however,  who 
had  concealed  himself  under  the  bed,  as  not  knowing 
to  whom  the  orders  for  his  arrest  might  be  given, 
finding  he  was  to  be  left  there,  and  sensible  that  he 
should  be  well  treated  by  L'Archant,  called  out  to  him, 
as  he  was  leaving  the  room,  in  his  droll  manner : 

"  What,  papa,  are  you  going  without  me  ?  Don't 
you  think  I  am  as  great  a  rogue  as  that  Simier  ? " 

"  Ah,  son,"  replied  L'Archant,  "  I  would  much 
rather  have  lost  my  arm  than  have  met  with  you ! " 

Bussi,  being  a  man  devoid  of  all  fear,  observed  that 
it  was  a  sign  that  things  went  well  with  him ;  then, 
turning  to  Simier,  who  stood  trembling  with  fear,  he 
jeered  him  upon  his  pusillanimity.  L'Archant  re- 
moved them  both,  and  set  a  guard  over  them ;  and,  in 
the  next  place,  proceeded  to  arrest  M.  de  la  Chastre, 
whom  he  took  to  the  Bastille. 

Meanwhile  M.  de  I'Oste  was  appointed  to  the  com- 


186  HISTORIC   COURT  IMEMOIRS. 

mand  of  the  guard  which  was  set  over  my  brother. 
This  was  a  good  sort  of  old  man,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed governor  to  the  King  my  husband,  and  loved 
me  as  if  I  had  been  his  own  child.  Sensible  of  the 
injustice  done  to  my  brother  and  me,  and  lamenting 
the  bad  counsel  by  which  the  King  was  guided,  and 
being,  moreover,  willing  to  serve  us,  he  resolved  to 
deliver  my  brother  from  arrest.  In  order  to  make 
his  intention  known  to  us  he  ordered  the  Scottish 
archers  to  wait  on  the  stairs  without,  keeping  only 
two  whom  he  could  trust  in  the  room.  Then  taking 
me  aside,  he  said : 

"  There  is  not  a  good  Frenchman  living  who  does 
not  bleed  at  his  heart  to  see  what  we  see.  I  have 
served  the  King  your  father,  and  I  am  ready  to  lay 
down  my  life  to  serve  his  children.  I  expect  to  have 
the  guard  of  the  Prince  your  brother,  wherever  he 
shall  chance  to  be  confined  ;  and,  depend  upon  it,  at 
the  hazard  of  my  life,  I  will  restore  him  to  his  lib- 
erty. But,"  added  he,  "  that  no  suspicions  may  arise 
that  such  is  my  design,  it  will  be  proper  that  we  be 
not  seen  together  in  conversation  ;  however,  you  may 
rely  upon  my  word." 

This  afforded  me  great  consolation ;  and,  assum- 
ing a  degree  of  courage  hereupon,  I  observed  to 
my  brother  that  we  ought  not  to  remain  there  with- 
out knowing  for  what  reason  we  were  detained,  as 
if  we  were  in  the  Inquisition;  and  that  to  treat  us 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  187 

in  such  a  manner  was  to  consider  us  as  persons  of 
no  account.  I  then  begged  M.  de  I'Oste  to  entreat 
the  King,  in  our  name,  if  the  Queen  our  mother  was 
not  permitted  to  come  to  us,  to  send  some  one  to  ac- 
quaint us  with  the  crime  for  which  we  were  kept  in 
confinement. 

M.  de  Combaut,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  young 
counsellors,  was  accordingly  sent  to  us  ;  and  he,  with 
a  great  deal  of  gravity,  informed  us  that  he  came 
from  the  King  to  inquire  what  it  was  we  wished  to 
communicate  to  his  Majesty.  We  answered  that  we 
wished  to  speak  to  some  one  near  the  King's  person, 
in  order  to  our  being  informed  what  we  were  kept 
in  confinement  for,  as  we  were  unable  to  assign  any 
reason  for  it  ourselves.  He  answered,  wijth  great 
solemnity,  that  we  ought  not  to  ask  of  God  or  the 
King  reasons  for  what  they  did ;  as  all  their  actions 
emanated  from  wisdom  and  justice.  We  replied 
that  we  were  not  persons  to  be  treated  like  those 
shut  up  in  the  Inquisition,  who  are  left  to  guess  at 
the  cause  of  their  being  there. 

We  could  obtain  from  him,  after  all  we  said,  no 
other  satisfaction  than  his  promise  to  interest  himself 
in  our  behaH,  and  to  do  us  all  the  service  in  his  power. 
At  this  my  brother  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  laughter ; 
but  I  confess  I  was  too  much  alarmed  to  treat  his 
message  with  such  indifference,  and  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  talking  to  this  messenger  as  he  deserved. 


188  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Whilst  he  was  making  his  report  to  the  King,  the 
Queen  my  mother  kept  her  chamber,  being  mider  great 
concern,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  to  witness  such  pro- 
ceedings. She  plainly  foresaw,  in  her  prudence,  that 
these  excesses  would  end  fatally,  should  the  mildness 
of  my  brother's  disposition,  and  his  regard  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  State,  be  once  wearied  out  with  submitting 
to  such  repeated  acts  of  injustice.  She  therefore 
sent  for  the  senior  members  of  the  Comicil,  the  chan- 
cellor, princes,  nobles,  and  marshals  of  France,  who  all 
were  greatly  scandalised  at  the  bad  counsel  which  had 
been  given  to  the  King,  and  told  the  Queen  my  mother 
that  she  ought  to  remonstrate  with  the  King  upon  the 
injustice  of  his  proceedings.  They  observed  that  what 
had  been  done  could  not  now  be  recalled,  but  matters 
might  yet  be  set  upon  a  right  footing.  The  Queen 
my  mother  hereupon  went  to  the  King,  followed  by 
these  counsellors,  and  represented  to  him  the  ill  con- 
sequences which  might  proceed  from  the  steps  he  had 
taken. 

The  King's  eyes  were  by  this  time  opened,  and  he 
saw  that  he  had  been  ill  advised.  He  therefore 
begged  the  Queen  my  mother  to  set  things  to  rights, 
and  to  prevail  on  my  brother  to  forget  all  that  had 
happened,  and  to  bear  no  resentment  against  these 
young  men,  but  to  make  up  the  breach  betwixt  Bussi 
and  Quelus. 

Things  being  thus  set  to  rights  again,  the  guard 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  189 

which  had  been  placed  over  my  brother  was  dismissed, 
and  the  Queen  my  mother,  coming  to  his  apartment, 
told  him  he  ought  to  return  thanks  to  God  for  his 
deliverance,  for  that  there  had  been  a  moment  when 
even  she  herself  despaired  of  saving  his  life ;  that 
since  he  must  now  have  discovered  that  the  King's 
temper  of  mind  was  such  that  he  took  the  alarm  at 
the  very  imagination  of  danger,  and  that,  when  once 
he  was  resolved  upon  a  measure,  no  advice  that  she 
or  any  other  could  give  would  prevent  him  from  put- 
ting it  into  execution,  she  would  recommend  it  to  him 
to  submit  himself  to  the  King's  pleasure  in  everything, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  like  in  future  ;  and,  for  the 
present,  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  King,  and  to  appear  as  if  he  thought  no  more 
about  the  past. 

We  replied  that  we  were  both  of  us  sensible  of  God's 
great  mercy  in  delivering  us  from  the  injustice  of  our 
enemies,  and  that,  next  to  God,  our  greatest  obligation 
was  to  her ;  but  that  my  brother's  rank  did  not  admit 
of  his  being  put  in  confinement  without  cause,  and 
released  from  it  again  without  the  formality  of  an 
acknowledgment.  Upon  this,  the  Queen  observed 
that  it  was  not  in  the  power  even  of  God  himself  to 
undo  what  had  been  done ;  that  what  could  be  effected 
to  save  his  honour,  and  give  him  satisfaction  for  the 
irregularity  of  the  arrest,  should  have  place.  My 
brother,  therefore,  she   observed,  ought  to  strive  to 


190  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

mollify  the  King  by  addressing  him  with  expressions 
of  regard  to  his  person  and  attachment  to  his  service  ; 
and,  in  the  meantime,  use  his  influence  over  Bussi  to 
reconcile  him  to  Quelus,  and  to  end  all  disputes 
betwixt  them.  She  then  declared  that  the  principal 
motive  for  putting  my  brother  and  his  servants  under 
arrest  was  to  prevent  the  combat  for  which  old  Bussi, 
the  brave  father  of  a  brave  son,  had  solicited  the 
King's  leave,  wherein  he  proposed  to  be  his  son's 
second,  whilst  the  father  of  Quelus  was  to  be  his. 
These  four  had  agreed  in  this  way  to  determine  the 
matter  in  dispute,  and  give  the  Court  no  further 
disturbance. 

My  brother  now  engaged  himself  to  the  Queen  that, 
as  Bussi  would  see  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  de- 
cide his  quarrel  by  combat,  he  should,  in  order  to 
deliver  himself  from  his  arrest,  do  as  she  had  com- 
manded. 

The  Queen  my  mother,  going  down  to  the  King, 
prevailed  with  him  to  restore  my  brother  to  liberty 
with  every  honour.  In  order  to  which  the  King  came 
to  her  apartment,  followed  by  the  princes,  noblemen, 
and  other  members  of  the  Council,  and  sent  for  us  by 
M.  de  Villequier.  As  we  went  along  we  found  all  the 
rooms  crowded  with  people,  who,  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  blessed  God  for  our  deliverance.  Coming  into 
the  apartments  of  the  Queen  my  mother,  we  found 
the  King  attended  as  I  before  related.     The  King 


MARGUERITE    DE    V ALOIS.  191 

desired  my  brother  not  to  take  anything  ill  that  had 
been  done,  as  the  motive  for  it  was  his  concern  for  the 
good  of  his  kingdom,  and  not  any  bad  intention 
towards  himself.  My  brother  replied  that  he  had,  as 
he  ought,  devoted  his  life  to  his  service,  and,  there- 
fore, was  governed  by  his  pleasure ;  but  that  he  most 
humbly  begged  him  to  consider  that  his  fidelity  and 
attachment  did  not  merit  the  return  he  had  met  with  ; 
that,  notwithstanding,  he  should  impute  it  entirely  to 
his  own  ill-fortune,  and  should  be  perfectly  satisfied 
if  the  King  acknowledged  his  innocence.  Hereupon 
the  King  said  that  he  entertained  not  the  least  doubt 
of  his  innocence,  and  only  desired  him  to  believe  he 
held  the  same  place  in  his  esteem  he  ever  had.  The 
Queen  my  mother  then,  taking  both  of  them  by 
the  hand,  made  them  embrace  each  other. 

Afterwards  the  King  commanded  Bussi  to  be 
brought  forth,  to  make  a  reconciliation  betwixt  him 
and  Qu^lus,  giving  orders,  at  the  same  time,  for  the 
release  of  Simier  and  M.  de  la  Chastre.  Bussi  com- 
ing into  the  room  with  his  usual  grace,  the  King  told 
him  he  must  be  reconciled  with  Qu^lus,  and  forbade 
him  to  say  a  word  more  concerning  their  quarrel. 
He  then  commanded  them  to  embrace.  "  Sire,"  said 
Bussi,  "  if  it  is  your  pleasure  that  we  kiss  and  are 
friends  again,  I  am  ready  to  obey  your  command ; " 
then,  putting  himself  in  the  attitude  of  Pantaloon,  he 
went  up  to  Quelus  and  gave  him  a  hug,  which  set  all 


192  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

present  in  a  titter,  notwithstanding  they  had  been 
seriously  affected  by  the  scene  which  had  passed  just 
before. 

Many  persons  of  discretion  thought  what  had  been 
done  was  too  slight  a  reparation  for  the  injuries  my 
brother  had  received.  When  all  was  over,  the  King 
and  the  Queen  my  mother,  coming  up  to  me,  said  it 
would  be  incumbent  on  me  to  use  my  utmost  endeav- 
ours to  prevent  my  brother  from  calling  to  mind 
anything  past  which  should  make  him  swerve  from 
the  duty  and  affection  he  owed  the  King.  I  replied 
that  my  brother  was  so  prudent,  and  so  strongly 
attached  to  the  King's  service,  that  he  needed  no 
admonition  on  that  head  from  me  or  any  one  else ; 
and  that,  with  respect  to  myself,  I  had  never  given 
him  any  other  advice  than  to  conform  himself  to  the 
King's  pleasure  and  the  duty  he  owed  him. 


LETTER   XIX. 

The  Due  d'AlenQon  Makes  His  Escape  from  Court Queen 

Marguerite's  Fidelity  Put  to  a  Severe  Trial. 

It  was  now  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  no 
one  present  had  yet  dmed.  The  Queen  my  mother 
was  desirous  that  we  should  eat  together,  and,  after 
dinner,  she  ordered  my  brother  and  me  to  change  our 
dress  (as  the  clothes  we  had  on  were  suitable  only  to 
our  late  melancholy  situation)  and  come  to  the  King's 
supper  and  ball.  We  complied  with  her  orders  as  far 
as  a  change  of  dress,  but  our  countenances  still 
retained  the  impressions  of  grief  and  resentment 
which  we  inwardly  felt. 

I  must  inform  you  that  when  the  tragi-comedy  I 
have  given  you  an  account  of  was  over,  tlie  Queen 
my  mother  turned  round  to  the  Chevalier  de  Seurre, 
whom  she  recommended  to  my  brother  to  sleep  in  his 
bedchamber,  and  in  whose  conversation  she  some- 
times took  delight  because  he  was  a  man  of  some 
humour,  but  rather  inclined  to  be  cynical. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  M.  de  Seurre,  what  do  you 
think  of  all  this  ?  " 

198 


194  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

"  Madame,  I  think  there  is  too  much  of  it  for  earn- 
est, and  not  enough  for  jest." 

Then  addressing  himself  to  me,  he  said,  but  not 
loud  enough  for  the  Queen  to  hear  him :  "  I  do  not 
believe  all  is  over  yet ;  I  am  very  much  mistaken  if 
this  young  man  "(meaning  my  brother)"  rests  satisfied 
with  this." 

This  day  having  passed  in  the  manner  before  re- 
lated, the  wound  being  only  skinned  over  and  far 
from  healed,  the  young  men  about  the  King's  person 
set  themselves  to  operate  in  order  to  break  it  out 
afresh. 

These  persons,  judging  of  my  brother  by  them- 
selves, and  not  having  sufficient  experience  to  know 
the  power  of  duty  over  the  minds  of  personages  of  ex- 
alted rank  and  high  birth,  persuaded  the  King,  still 
connecting  his  case  with  their  own,  that  it  was  impos- 
sible my  brother  should  ever  forgive  the  affront  he 
had  received,  and  not  seek  to  avenge  himself  with  the 
first  opportunity.  The  King,  forgetting  the  ill-judged 
steps  these  young  men  had  so  lately  induced  him  to 
take,  hereupon  receives  this  new  impression,  and 
gives  orders  to  the  officers  of  the  guard  to  keep  strict 
watch  at  the  gates  that  his  brother  go  not  out,  and 
that  his  people  be  made  to  leave  the  Louvre  every 
evening,  except  such  of  them  as  usually  slept  in  his 
bedchamber  or  wardrobe. 

My  brother,  seeing  himself  thus   exposed  to  the 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  195 

caprices  of  these  headstrong  young  fellows,  who  led 
the  King  according  to  their  own  fancies,  and  fearing 
something  worse  might  happen  than  what  he  had  yet 
experienced,  at  the  end  of  three  days,  during  which 
time  he  laboured  under  apprehensions  of  this  kind, 
came  to  a  determination  to  leave  the  Court,  and 
never  more  return  to  it,  but  retire  to  his  principality 
and  make  preparations  with  all  haste  for  his  expedi- 
tion to  Flanders. 

He  communicated  his  design  to  me,  and  I  approved 
of  it,  as  I  considered  he  had  no  other  view  in  it  than 
providing  for  his  own  safety,  and  that  neither  the 
King  nor  his  government  were  likely  to  sustain  any 
injury  by  it. 

When  we  consulted  upon  the  means  of  its  accom- 
plishment, we  could  find  no  other  than  his  descending 
from  my  window,  which  was  on  the  second  story  and 
opened  to  the  ditch,  for  the  gates  were  so  closely 
watched  that  it  was  impossible  to  pass  them,  the  face 
of  every  one  going  out  of  the  Louvre  being  curiously 
examined.  He  begged  of  me,  therefore,  to  procure 
for  him  a  rope  of  sufficient  streng-th  and  long  enough 
for  the  purpose.  This  I  set  about  immediately,  for, 
having  the  sacking  of  a  bed  that  wanted  mending, 
I  sent  it  out  of  the  palace  by  a  lad  whom  I  could 
trust,  with  orders  to  bring  it  back  repaired,  and  to 
wrap  up  the  proper  length  of  rope  inside. 

When  all  was  prepared,  one  evening,   at   supper 


196  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

time,  I  went  to  the  Queen  my  mother,  who  supped 
alone  in  her  own  apartment,  it  being  fast-day  and  the 
King  eating  no  supper.  My  brother,  who  on  most 
occasions  was  patient  and  discreet,  spurred  on  by  the 
indignities  he  had  received,  and  anxious  to  extricate 
himself  from  danger  and  regain  his  liberty,  came 
to  me  as  I  was  rising  from  table,  and  whispered  to 
me  to  make  haste  and  come  to  him  in  my  own  apart- 
ment. M.  de  Matignon,  at  that  time  a  marshal,  a 
sly,  cunning  Norman,  and  one  who  had  no  love  for 
my  brother,  whether  he  had  some  knowledge  of  his 
design  from  some  one  who  could  not  keep  a  secret,  or 
only  guessed  at  it,  observed  to  the  Queen  my  mother 
as  she  left  the  room  (which  I  overheard,  being  near 
her,  and  circumspectly  watching  every  word  and 
motion,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  situated  as  I  was 
betwixt  fear  and  hope,  and  involved  in  perplexity) 
that  my  brother  had  undoubtedly  an  intention  of 
withdrawing  himself,  and  would  not  be  there  the  next 
day  ;  adding  that  he  was  assured  of  it,  and  she  might 
take  her  measures  accordingly. 

I  observed  that  she  was  much  disconcerted  by  this 
observation,  and  I  had  my  fears  lest  we  should  be 
discovered.  When  we  came  into  her  closet,  she  drew 
me  aside  and  asked  if  I  heard  what  Matignon  had 
said. 

I  replied  :  "  I  did  not  hear  it,  Madame,  but  I  observe 
that  it  has  given  you  uneasiness." 


MARGUERITE  DE   VALOIS.  197 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  "  a  great  deal  of  uneasiness,  for 
you  know  I  have  pledged  myself  to  the  King  that 
your  brother  shall  not  depart  hence,  and  Matignon 
has  declared  that  he  knows  very  well  he  will  not  be 
here  to-morrow." 

I  now  found  myself  under  a  great  embarrassment ; 
I  was  in  danger  either  of  proving  unfaithful  to  my 
brother,  and  thereby  bringing  his  life  into  jeopardy, 
or  of  being  obliged  to  declare  that  to  be  truth  which 
I  knew  to  be  false,  and  this  I  would  have  died  rather 
than  be  guilty  of.* 

In  this  extremity,  if  I  had  not  been  aided  by  God, 
my  countenance,  without  speaking,  would  plainly  have 
discovered  what  I  wished  to  conceal.  But  God,  who 
assists  those  who  mean  well,  and  whose  divine  good- 
ness was  discoverable  in  my  brother's  escape,  enabled 
me  to  compose  my  looks  and  suggested  to  me  such 
a  reply  as  gave  her  to  understand  no  more  than  I 
wished  her  to  know,  and  cleared  my  conscience  from 
making  any  declaration  contrary  to  the  truth.  I  an- 
swered her  in  these  words : 

"  You  cannot,  Madame,  but  be  sensible  that  M.  de 
Matignon  is  not  one  of  my  brother's  friends,  and  that 
he  is,  besides,  a  busy,  meddling  kind  of  man,  who  is 
sorry  to  find  a  reconciliation  has  taken  place  with  us ; 
and,  as  to  my  brother,  I  will  answer  for  him  with  my 
life  in  case  he  goes  hence,  of  which,  if  he  had  any 
design,  I  should,  as  I  am  well  assured,  not  be  igno- 


198  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS, 

rant,  he  never  having  yet  concealed  anything  he 
meant  to  do  from  me." 

All  this  was  said  by  me  with  the  assurance  that, 
after  my  brother's  escape,  they  would  not  dare  to  do 
me  any  injury ;  and  in  case  of  the  worst,  and  when 
we  should  be  discovered,  I  had  much  rather  pledge 
my  life  than  hazard  my  soul  by  a  false  declaration, 
and  endanger  my  brother's  life.  Without  scrutinising 
the  import  of  my  speech,  she  replied :  "  Remember 
what  you  now  say,  —  you  will  be  bound  for  him  on 
the  penalty  of  your  life." 

I  smiled  and  answered  that  such  was  my  intention. 
Then,  wishing  her  a  good  night,  I  retired  to  my  own 
bedchamber,  where,  undressing  myself  in  haste  and 
getting  into  bed,  in  order  to  dismiss  the  ladies  and 
maids  of  honour,  and  there  then  remaining  only  my 
chamber-women,  my  brother  came  in,  accompanied 
by  Simier  and  Cange.  Rising  from  my  bed,  we  made 
the  cord  fast,  and  having  looked  out  at  the  window  to 
discover  if  any  one  was  in  the  ditch,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  three  of  my  women,  who  slept  in  my  room, 
and  the  lad  who  had  brought  in  the  rope,  we  let  down 
my  brother,  who  laughed  and  joked  upon  the  occasion 
without  the  least  apprehension,  notwithstanding  the 
height  was  considerable.  We  next  lowered  Simier 
into  the  ditch,  who  was  in  such  a  fright  that  he  had 
scarcely  strength  to  hold  the  rope  fast ;  and  lastly 
descended  my  brother's  valet  de  chambre,  Cang^. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  199 

Through  God's  providence  my  brother  got  off  undis- 
covered, and  going  to  Ste.  Genevieve,  he  found  Bussi 
waiting  there  for  him.  By  consent  of  the  abbot,  a 
hole  had  been  made  in  the  city  wall,  through  which 
they  passed,  and  horses  being  provided  and  in  waiting, 
they  mounted,  and  reached  Angers  without  the  least 
accident. 

Whilst  we  were  lowering  down  Cang^,  who,  as  I 
mentioned  before,  was  the  last,  we  observed  a  man 
rising  out  of  the  ditch,  who  ran  towards  the  lodge 
adjoining  to  the  tennis-court,  in  the  direct  way  lead- 
ing to  the  guard-house.  I  had  no  apprehensions  on 
my  own  account,  all  my  fears  being  absorbed  by  those 
I  entertained  for  my  brother ;  and  now  I  was  almost 
dead  with  alarm,  supposing  this  might  be  a  spy  placed 
there  by  M.  de  Matignon,  and  that  my  brother  would 
be  taken.  Whilst  I  was  in  this  cruel  state  of  anxiety, 
which  can  be  judged  of  only  by  those  who  have  expe- 
rienced a  similar  situation,  my  women  took  a  pre- 
caution for  my  safety  and  their  own,  which  did  not 
suggest  itself  to  me.  This  was  to  burn  the  rope,  that 
it  might  not  appear  to  our  conviction  in  case  the  man 
in  question  had  been  placed  there  to  watch  us.  This 
rope  occasioned  so  great  a  flame  in  burning,  that  it 
set  fire  to  the  chimney,  which,  being  seen  from  with- 
out, alarmed  the  guard,  who  ran  to  us,  knocking  \'io- 
lently  at  the  door,  calling  for  it  to  be  opened. 

I  now  concluded  that  my  brother  was  stopped,  and 


200  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  we  were  both  undone.  However,  as,  by  the 
blessing  of  God  and  through  his  divine  mercy  alone, 
I  have,  amidst  every  danger  with  which  I  have  been 
repeatedly  surrounded,  constantly  preserved  a  presence 
of  mind  which  directed  what  was  best  to  be  done,  and 
observing  that  the  rope  was  not  more  than  half  con- 
sumed, I  told  my  women  to  go  to  the  door,  and  speak- 
ing softly,  as  if  I  was  asleep,  to  ask  the  men  what 
they  wanted.  They  did  so,  and  the  archers  replied 
that  the  chimney  was  on  fire,  and  they  came  to 
extinguish  it.  My  women  answered  it  was  of  no 
consequence,  and  they  could  put  it  out  themselves, 
begging  them  not  to  awake  me.  This  alarm  thus 
passed  oif  quietly,  and  they  went  away ;  but,  in  two 
hours  afterward,  M.  de  Coss^  came  for  me  to  go  to 
the  King  and  the  Queen,  my  mother,  to  give  an 
account  of  my  brother's  escape,  of  which  they  had 
received  intelligence  by  the  Abbot  of  Ste.  Gene\deve. 

It  seems  it  had  been  concerted  betwixt  my  brother 
and  the  abbot,  in  order  to  prevent  the  latter  from 
falling  under  disgrace,  that,  when  my  brother  might 
be  supposed  to  have  reached  a  sufficient  distance,  the 
abbot  should  go  to  Court,  and  say  that  he  had  been 
put  into  confinement  whilst  the  hole  was  being  made, 
and  that  he  came  to  inform  the  King  as  soon  as  he 
had  released  himself. 

I  was  in  bed,  for  it  was  yet  night;  and  rising 
hastily,  I  put  on  my  night-clothes.     One  of  my  women 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.        ,  201 

was  indiscreet  enough  to  hold  me  round  the  waist, 
and  exclaim  aloud,  shedding  a  flood  of  tears,  that  she 
should  never  see  me  more.  M.  de  Cosse,  pushing  her 
away,  said  to  me  :  "  If  I  were  not  a  person  thoroughly 
devoted  to  your  service,  this  woman  has  said  enough 
to  bring  you  into  trouble.  But,"  continued  he,  "  fear 
nothing.  God  be  praised,  by  this  time  the  Prince 
your  brother  is  out  of  danger." 

These  words  were  very  necessary,  in  the  present 
state  of  my  mind,  to  fortify  it  against  the  reproaches 
and  threats  I  had  reason  to  expect  from  the  King. 
I  foimd  him  sitting  at  the  foot  of  the  Queen  my 
mother's  bed,  in  such  a  violent  rage  that  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  I  should  have  felt  the  effects  of  it,  had  he 
not  been  restrained  by  the  absence  of  my  brother  and 
my  mother's  presence.  They  both  told  me  that  I  had 
assured  them  my  brother  would  not  leave  the  Court, 
and  that  I  pledged  myself  for  his  stay.  I  replied  that 
it  was  true  that  he  had  deceived  me,  as  he  had  them ; 
however,  I  was  ready  still  to  pledge  my  life  that  his 
departure  would  not  operate  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
King's  service,  and  that  it  would  appear  he  was  only 
gone  to  his  own  principality  to  give  orders  and  for- 
ward his  expedition  to  Flanders. 

The  King  appeared  to  be  somewhat  mollified  by 
this  declaration,  and  now  gave  me  permission  to 
return  to  my  own  apartments.  Soon  afterwards  he 
received  letters  from  my  brother,  containing  assur- 


202  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

ances  of  his  attachment,  in  the  terms  I  had  before 
expressed.  This  caused  a  cessation  of  complaints,  but 
by  no  means  removed  the  King's  dissatisfaction,  who 
made  a  show  of  affording  assistance  to  his  expedition, 
but  was  secretly  using  every  means  to  frustrate  and 
defeat  it. 


LETTER   XX. 

Queen  Marguerite  Permitted  to  Go  to  the  King  Her  Hus- 
band. —  Is  Accompanied  by  the  Queen-mother.  —  Mar- 
guerite Insulted  by  Her  Husband's  Secretary.  —  She 
Harbours  Jealousy.  —  Her  Attention  to  the  King  Her 
Husband  during  an  Indisposition.  —  Their  Reconciliation. 
—  The  War  Breaks  Out  Afresh.  —  Affront  Received  from 
Mar6chal  de  Biron. 

I  NOW  renewed  my  application  for  leave  to  go  to 
the  King  my  husband,  which  I  continued  to  press  on 
every  opportunity.  The  King,  perceiving  that  he 
could  not  refuse  my  leave  any  longer,  was  willing  I 
should  depart  satisfied.  He  had  this  further  view  in 
complying  with  my  wishes,  that  by  this  means  he 
should  withdraw  me  from  my  attachment  to  my 
brother.  He  therefore  strove  to  oblige  me  in  every 
way  he  could  think  of,  and,  to  fulfil  the  promise  made 
by  the  Queen  my  mother  at  the  Peace  of  Sens,  he 
gave  me  an  assignment  of  my  portion  in  territory, 
with  the  power  of  nomination  to  all  vacant  benefices 
and  all  offices ;  and,  over  and  above  the  customary 
pension  to  the  daughters  of  France,  he  gave  another 
out  of  his  privy  purse. 


204  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

He  daily  paid  me  a  visit  in  my  apartment,  in  which 
he  took  occasion  to  represent  to  me  how  useful  his 
friendship  would  be  to  me ;  whereas  that  of  my 
brother  could  be  only  injurious,  —  with  arguments  of 
the  like  kind. 

However,  all  he  could  say  was  insufficient  to  pre- 
vail on  me  to  swerve  from  the  fidelity  I  had  vowed 
to  observe  to  my  brother.  The  King  was  able  to 
draw  from  me  no  other  declaration  than  this :  that  it 
ever  was,  and  should  be,  my  earnest  wish  to  see  my 
brother  firmly  established  in  his  gracious  favour, 
which  he  had  never  appeared  to  me  to  have  forfeited ; 
that  I  was  well  assured  he  would  exert  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  regain  it  by  every  act  of  duty  and  merito- 
rious service ;  that,  with  respect  to  myself,  I  thought 
I  was  so  much  obliged  to  him  for  the  great  honour  he 
did  me  by  repeated  acts  of  generosity,  that  he  might 
be  assured,  when  I  was  with  the  King  my  husband 
I  should  consider  myself  bound  in  duty  to  obey  all 
such  commands  as  he  should  be  pleased  to  give  me ; 
and  that  it  would  be  my  whole  study  to  maintain  the 
King  my  husband  in  a  submission  to  his  pleasure. 

My  brother  was  now  on  the  point  of  leaving 
Alengon  to  go  to  Flanders ;  the  Queen  my  mother 
was  desirous  to  see  him  before  his  departure.  1 
begged  the  King  to  permit  me  to  take  the  opportunity 
of  accompanying  her  to  take  leave  of  my  brother, 
which  he  granted  ;  but,  as  it  seemed,  with  great  un- 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  205 

willingness.  When  we  returned  from  Alengon,  I 
solicited  the  King  to  permit  me  to  take  leave  of  him- 
self, as  I  had  everything  prepared  for  my  journey. 
The  Queen  my  mother  being  desirous  to  go  to 
Gascony,  where  her  presence  was  necessary  for  the 
King's  service,  was  unwilling  that  I  should  depart 
without  her.  When  we  left  Paris,  the  King  accom- 
panied us  on  the  way  as  far  as  his  palace  of  Dolinville. 
There  we  stayed  with  him  a  few  days,  and  there  we 
took  our  leave,  and  in  a  little  time  reached  Guienne, 
which  belonging  to,  and  being  under  the  government 
of  the  King  my  husband,  I  was  everywhere  received 
as  Queen.  My  husband  gave  the  Queen  my  mother 
a  meeting  at  R^olle,  which  was  held  by  the  Huguenots 
as  a  cautionary  town ;  and  the  country  not  being  suf- 
ficiently quieted,  she  was  permitted  to  go  no  further. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Queen  my  mother  to 
make  but  a  short  stay  ;  but  so  many  accidents  arose 
from  disputes  betwixt  the  Huguenots  and  Catholics, 
that  she  was  under  the  necessity  of  stopping  there 
eighteen  months.  As  this  was  very  much  against 
her  inclination,  she  was  sometimes  inclined  to  think 
there  was  a  design  to  keep  her,  in  order  to  have  the 
company  of  her  maids  of  honour.  For  my  husband 
had  been  greatly  smitten  with  Dayelle,  and  M.  de 
Thurene  was  in  love  with  La  Vergne.  However,  T 
received  every  mark  of  honour  and  attention  from 
the  King  that  I  could  expect  or  desire.     He  related 


206  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

to  me,  as  soon  as  we  met,  the  artifices  which  had 
been  put  in  practice  whilst  he  remained  at  Court  to 
create  a  misunderstanding  betwixt  him  and  me  ;  all 
this,  he  said,  he  knew  was  with  a  design  to  cause  a 
rupture  betwixt  my  brother  and  him,  and  thereby 
ruin  us  all  three,  as  there  was  an  exceeding  great 
jealousy  entertained  of  the  friendship  which  existed 
betwixt  us. 

We  remained  in  the  disagreeable  situation  I  have 
before  described  all  the  time  the  Queen  my  mother 
stayed  in  Gascony ;  but,  as  soon  as  she  could  re- 
establish peace,  she,  by  desire  of  the  King  my  hus- 
band, removed  the  King's  lieutenant,  the  Marquis  de 
Villars,  putting  in  his  place  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron, 
She  then  departed  for  Languedoc,  and  we  conducted 
her  to  Castelnaudary ;  where,  taking  our  leave,  we 
returned  to  Pan,  in  Beam ;  in  which  place,  the 
Catholic  religion  not  being  tolerated,  I  was  only 
allowed  to  have  mass  celebrated  in  a  chapel  of  about 
three  or  four  feet  in  length,  and  so  narrow  that  it 
could  scarcely  hold  seven  or  eight  persons.  During 
the  celebration  of  mass,  the  bridge  of  the  castle  was 
drawn  up  to  prevent  the  Catholics  of  the  town  and 
country  from  coming  to  assist  at  it ;  who  having 
been,  for  some  years,  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  fol- 
lowing their  own  mode  of  worship,  would  have  gladly 
been  present.  Actuated  by  so  holy  and  laudable  a 
desire,   some  of   the   inhabitants  of  Pan,  on  Whit- 


MARGUERITE    BE    VALOIS.  207 

Sunday,  found  means  to  get  into  the  castle  before  the 
bridge  was  drawn  up,  and  were  present  at  the  cel- 
ebration of  mass,  not  being  discovered  until  it  was 
nearly  over.  At  length  the  Huguenots  espied  them, 
and  ran  to  acquaint  Le  Pin,  secretary  to  the  King  my 
husband,  who  was  greatly  in  his  favour,  and  who 
conducted  the  whole  business  relating  to  the  new 
religion.  Upon  receiving  this  intelligence,  Le  Pin 
ordered  the  guard  to  arrest  these  poor  people,  who 
were  severely  beaten  in  my  presence,  and  afterwards 
locked  up  in  prison,  whence  they  were  not  released 
without  paying  a  considerable  fine. 

This  indignity  gave  me  great  offence,  as  I  never 
expected  anything  of  the  kind.  Accordingly,  I  com- 
plained of  it  to  the  King  my  husband,  begging  him 
to  give  orders  for  the  release  of  these  poor  Catholics, 
who  did  not  deserve  to  be  punished  for  coming  to  my 
chapel  to  hear  mass,  a  celebration  of  which  they  had 
been  so  long  deprived  of  the  benefit.  Le  Pin,  with 
the  greatest  disrespect  to  his  master,  took  upon  him 
to  reply,  without  waiting  to  hear  what  the  King  had 
to  say.  He  told  me  that  I  ought  not  to  trouble  the 
King  my  husband  about  such  matters ;  that  what 
had  been  done  was  very  right  and  proper ;  that  those 
people  had  justly  merited  the  treatment  they  met 
with,  and  all  I  could  say  would  go  for  nothing,  for  it 
must  be  so ;  and  that  I  ought  to  rest  satisfied  with 
being  permitted  to  have  mass  said  to  me  and  my 


208  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

servants.  This  insolent  speech  from  a  person  of  his 
inferior  condition  incensed  me  greatly,  and  I  entreated 
the  King  my  husband,  if  I  had  the  least  share  in  his 
good  graces,  to  do  me  justice,  and  avenge  the  insult 
offered  me  by  this  low  man. 

The  King  my  husband,  perceiving  that  I  was 
offended,  as  I  had  reason  to  be,  with  this  gross  indig- 
nity, ordered  Le  Pin  to  quit  our  presence  immedi- 
ately ;  and,  expressing  his  concern  at  his  secretary's 
beha"^aour,  who,  he  said,  was  overzealous  in  the  cause 
of  religion,  he  promised  that  he  would  make  an  ex- 
ample of  him.  As  to  the  Catholic  prisoners,  he  said 
he  would  advise  with  his  parliament  what  ought  to  be 
done  for  my  satisfaction. 

Having  said  this,  he  went  to  his  closet,  where  he 
found  Le  Pin,  who,  by  dint  of  persuasion,  made 
him  change  his  resolution ;  insomuch  that,  fearing  I 
should  insist  upon  his  dismissing  his  secretary,  he 
avoided  meeting  me.  At  last,  finding  that  I  was 
firmly  resolved  to  leave  him,  unless  he  dismissed  Le 
Pin,  he  took  advice  of  some  persons,  who,  having 
themselves  a  dislike  to  the  secretary,  represented  that 
he  ought  not  to  give  me  cause  of  displeasure  for  the 
sake  of  a  man  of  his  small  importance, —  especially 
one  who,  like  him,  had  given  me  just  reason  to  be 
offended ;  that,  when  it  became  known  to  the  King 
my  brother  and  the  Queen  my  mother,  they  would 
certainly  take  it  ill  that  he  had  not  only  not  resented 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  209 

it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  still  kept  him  near  his 
person. 

This  counsel  prevailed  with  him,  ani'  he  at  length 
discarded  his  secretary.  The  King,  however,  con- 
tinued to  behave  to  me  with  great  coolness,  being  in- 
fluenced, as  he  afterwards  confessed,  by  the  coubsel  of 
M.  de  Pibrac,  who  acted  the  part  of  a  double  dealer, 
telling  me  that  I  ought  not  to  pardon  an  affront 
offered  by  such  a  mean  fellow,  but  insist  upon  his 
being  dismissed ;  whilst  he  persuaded  the  King  my 
husband  that  there  was  no  reason  for  parting  with  a 
man  so  useful  to  him,  for  such  a  trivial  cause.  This 
was  done  by  M.  de  Pibrac,  thinking  I  might  be  in- 
duced, from  such  mortifications,  to  return  to  France, 
where  he  enjoyed  the  offices  of  president  and  King's 
counsellor. 

I  now  met  with  a  fresh  cause  for  disquietude  in  my 
present  situation,  for,  Dayelle  being  gone,  the  King 
my  husband  placed  his  affections  on  Rebours.  She 
was  an  artful  young  person,  and  had  no  regard  for 
me ;  accordingly,  she  did  me  all  the  ill  offices  in  her 
power  with  him.  In  the  midst  of  these  trials,  I  put 
my  trust  in  God,  and  he,  moved  with  pity  by  my 
tears,  gave  permission  for  our  leaving  Pan,  that "  little 
Geneva ; "  and,  fortunately  for  me,  Rebours  was  taken 
ill  and  stayed  behind.  The  King  my  husband  no 
sooner  lost  sight  of  her  than  he  forgot  her ;  he  now 
turned  his  eyes  and  attention  towards  Fosseuse.     She 


210  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

was  much  handsomer  than  the  other,  and  was  at  that 
time  young,  and  really  a  very  amiable  person. 

Pursuing  the  road  to  Montauban,  we  stopped  at  a 
little  town  called  Eause,  where,  in  the  night,  the  King 
my  husband  was  attacked  with  a  high  fever,  accom- 
panied with  most  violent  pains  in  his  head.  This 
fever  lasted  for  seventeen  days,  during  which  time  he 
had  no  rest  night  or  day,  but  was  continually  removed 
from  one  bed  to  another.  I  nursed  him  the  whole 
time,  never  stirring  from  his  bedside,  and  never  put- 
ting off  my  clothes.  He  took  notice  of  my  extraordi- 
nary tenderness,  and  spoke  of  it  to  several  persons, 

and  particularly  to  my  cousin  M ,  who,  acting  the 

part  of  an  affectionate  relation,  restored  me  to  his 
favour,  insomuch  that  I  never  stood  so  highly  in  it 
before.  This  happiness  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
enjoy  during  the  four  or  five  years  that  I  remained 
with  him  in  Gascony. 

Our  residence,  for  the  most  part  of  the  time  I  have 
mentioned,  was  at  N^rac,  where  our  Court  was  so 
brilliant  that  we  had  no  cause  to  regret  our  absence 
from  the  Court  of  France.  We  had  with  us  the 
Princesse  de  Navarre,  my  husband's  sister,  since  mar- 
ried to  the  Due  de  Bar ;  there  were  besides  a  number 
of  ladies  belonging  to  myself.  The  King  my  husband 
was  attended  by  a  numerous  body  of  lords  and  gen- 
tlemen, all  as  gallant  persons  as  I  have  seen  in  any 
Court ;  and  we  had  only  to  lament  that  they  were 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  211 

Huguenots.  This  difference  of  religion,  however, 
caused  no  dispute  among  us ;  the  King  my  husband 
and  the  Princess  his  sister  heard  a  sermon,  whilst  I 
and  my  servants  heard  mass.  I  had  a  chapel  in  the 
park  for  the  purpose,  and,  as  soon  as  the  service  of 
both  religions  was  over,  we  joined  company  in  a  beau- 
tiful garden,  ornamented  with  long  walks  shaded  with 
laurel  and  cypress  trees.  Sometimes  we  took  -a  walk 
in  the  park  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  bordered  by  an 
avenue  of  trees  three  thousand  yards  in  length.  The 
rest  of  the  day  was  passed  in  innocent  amusements ; 
and  in  the  afternoon,  or  at  night,  we  commonly  had  a 
ball. 

The  King  was  very  assiduous  with  Fosseuse,  who, 
being  dependent  on  me,  kept  herself  within  the  strict 
bounds  of  honour  and  virtue.  Had  she  always  done  so, 
she  had  not  brought  upon  herself  a  misfortune  which 
has  proved  of  such  fatal  consequence  to  myself  as  well 
as  to  her. 

But  our  happiness  was  too  great  to  be  of  long  con- 
tinuance, and  fresh  troubles  broke  out  betwixt  the 
King  my  husband  and  the  Catholics,  and  gave  rise  to 
a  new  war.  The  King  my  husband  and  the  Mar^chal 
de  Biron,  who  was  the  King's  lieutenant  in  Guienne, 
had  a  difference,  which  was  aggravated  by  the  Hugue- 
nots. This  breach  became  in  a  short  time  so  wide 
that  all  my  efforts  to  close  it  were  useless.  They 
made   their   separate    complaints  to  the  King.     The 


212  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

King  my  husband  insisted  on  the  removal  of  the  Ma- 
r^chal  de  Biron,  and  the  Marshal  charged  the  King 
my  husband,  and  the  rest  of  those  who  were  of  the 
pretended  reformed  religion,  with  designs  contrary  to 
peace.  I  saw,  with  great  concern,  that  affairs  were 
likely  soon  to  come  to  an  open  rupture  ;  and  I  had  no 
power  to  prevent  it. 

The  Marshal  advised  the  King  to  come  to  Guienne 
himself,  saying  that  in  his  presence  matters  might  be 
settled.  The  Huguenots,  hearing  of  this  proposal,  sup- 
posed the  King  would  take  possession  of  their  towns, 
and,  thereupon,  came  to  a  resolution  to  take  up  arms. 
This  was  what  I  feared ;  1  was  become  a  sharer  in 
the  King  my  husband's  fortune,  and  was  now  to  be 
in  opposition  to  the  King  my  brother  and  the  religion 
I  had  been  bred  up  in.  I  gave  my  opinion  upon  this 
war  to  the  King  my  husband  and  his  Council,  and 
strove  to  dissuade  them  from  engaging  in  it.  I 
represented  to  them  the  hazards  of  carrying  on  a 
war  when  they  were  to  be  opposed  against  so  able 
a  general  as  the  Mardchal  de  Biron,  who  would  not 
spare  them,  as  other  generals  had  done,  he  being  their 
private  enemy.  I  begged  them  to  consider  that,  if  the 
King  brought  his  whole  force  against  them,  with  in- 
tention to  exterminate  their  religion,  it  would  not  be 
in  their  power  to  oppose  or  prevent  it.  But  they  were 
so  headstrong,  and  so  blinded  with  the  hope  of  suc- 
ceeding in  the  surprise  of  certain  towns  in  Languedoc 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  213 

and  Gascony,  that,  though  the  King  did  me  the  hon- 
our, upon  all  occasions,  to  listen  to  my  advice,  as  did 
most  of  the  Huguenots,  yet  I  could  not  prevail  on 
them  to  follow  it  in  the  present  situation  of  affairs, 
until  it  was  too  late,  and  after  they  had  found,  to 
their  cost,  that  my  counsel  was  good.  The  torrent 
was  now  burst  forth,  and  there  was  no  possibility 
of  stopping  its  course  until  it  had  spent  its  utmost 
strength. 

Before  that  period  arrived,  foreseeing  the  conse- 
quences, I  had  often  written  to  the  King  and  the 
Queen  my  mother,  to  offer  something  to  the  King 
my  husband  by  way  of  accommodating  matters.  Cut 
they  were  bent  against  it,  and  seemed  to  be  pleased 
that  matters  had  taken  such  a  turn,  being  assured 
by  Mar^chal  de  Biron  that  he  had  it  in  his  power 
to  crush  the  Huguenots  whenever  he  pleased.  In 
this  crisis  my  advice  was  not  attended  to,  the  dis- 
sensions increased,  and  recourse  was  had  to  arms. 

The  Huguenots  had  reckoned  upon  a  force  more 
considerable  than  they  were  able  to  collect  together, 
and  the  King  my  husband  found  himself  outnmnbered 
by  Mar^chal  de  Biron.  In  consequence,  those  of  the 
pretended  reformed  religion  failed  in  all  their  plans, 
except  their  attack  upon  Cahors,  which  they  took  with 
petards,  after  having  lost  a  great  number  of  men, — 
M.  de  Yezins,  who  commanded  in  the  town,  disputing 
their  entrance  for  two  or  three  days,  from  street  to 


214  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

street,  and  even  from  house  to  house.  The  King  my 
husband  displayed  great  valour  and  conduct  upon  the 
occasion,  and  showed  himself  to  be  a  gallant  and 
brave  general.  Though  the  Huguenots  succeeded 
in  this  attempt,  their  loss  was  so  great  that  they 
gained  nothing  from  it.  Marechal  de  Biron  kept 
the  field,  and  took  every  place  that  declared  for 
the  Huguenots,  putting  all  that  opposed  him  to  the 
sword. 

From  the  commencement  of  this  war,  the  King  my 
husband  doing  me  the  honour  to  love  me,  and  com- 
manding me  not  to  leave  him,  I  had  resolved  to  share 
his  fortune,  not  without  extreme  regret,  in  observing 
that  this  war  was  of  such  a  nature  that  I  could  not, 
in  conscience,  wish  success  to  either  side ;  for  if  the 
Huguenots  got  the  upper  hand,  the  religion  which  I 
cherished  as  much  as  my  life  was  lost,  and  if  the 
Catholics  prevailed,  the  King  my  husband  was  un- 
done. But,  being  thus  attached  to  my  husband,  by 
the  duty  I  owed  him,  and  obliged  by  the  attentions 
he  was  pleased  to  show  me,  I  could  only  acquaint  the 
King  and  the  Queen  my  mother  with  the  situation  to 
which  I  was  reduced,  occasioned  by  my  advice  to  them 
not  having  been  attended  to.  I,  therefore,  prayed 
them,  if  they  could  not  extinguish  the  flames  of  war 
in  the  midst  of  which  I  was  placed,  at  least  to  give 
orders  to  Marechal  de  Biron  to  consider  the  town  I 
resided  in,  and   three   leagues  round  it,  as  neutral 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  215 

ground,  and  that  I  would  get  the  King  my  hus- 
band to  do  the  same.  This  the  King  granted  me 
for  Nerac,  provided  my  husband  was  not  there ; 
but  if  he  should  enter  it,  the  neutrality  was  to 
cease,  and  so  to  remain  as  long  as  he  continued 
there.  This  convention  was  observed,  on  both  sides, 
with  all  the  exactness  I  could  desire.  However, 
the  King  my  husband  was  not  to  be  prevented 
irom  often  visiting  Nerac,  which  was  the  residence 
of  his  sister  and  me.  He  was  fond  of  the  society 
of  ladies,  and,  moreover,  was  at  that  time  greatly 
enamoured  with  Fosseuse,  who  held  the  place  in  his 
affections  which  Rebours  had  lately  occupied.  Fos- 
seuse did  me  no  ill  offices,  so  that  the  King  my 
husband  and  I  continued  to  live  on  very  good  terms, 
especially  as  he  perceived  me  unwilling  to  oppose  his 
inclinations. 

Led  by  such  inducements,  he  came  to  Nerac,  once, 
with  a  body  of  troops,  and  stayed  three  days,  not  being 
able  to  leave  the  agreeable  company  he  found  there. 
Marechal  de  Biron,  who  wished  for  nothing  so  much 
as  such  an  opportunity,  was  apprised  of  it,  and,  under 
pretence  of  joining  M.  de  Cornusson,  the  seneschal  of 
Toulouse,  who  was  expected  with  a  reinforcement  for 
his  army,  he  began  his  march ;  but,  instead  of  pursu- 
ing the  road,  according  to  the  orders  he  had  issued,  he 
suddenly  ordered  his  troops  to  file  off  towards  Nerac, 
and,  before  nine  in  the  morning,  his  whole  force  was 


216  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

drawn  up  within  sight  of  the  town,  and  within  cannon- 
shot  of  it. 

The  King  my  husband  had  received  intelligence,  the 
evening  before,  of  the  expected  arrival  of  M.  de 
Cornusson,  and  was  desirous  of  preventing  the  junc- 
tion, for  which  purpose  he  resolved  to  attack  him  and 
the  Marshal  separately.  As  he  had  been  lately  joined 
by  M.  de  La  Rochefoucauld,  with  a  corps  of  cavalry 
consisting  of  eight  hundred  men,  formed  from  the 
nobility  of  Saintonge,  he  found  himself  sufficiently 
strong  to  undertake  such  a  plan.  He,  therefore,  set 
out  before  break  of  day  to  make  his  attack  as  they 
crossed  the  river.  But  his  intelligence  did  not  prove 
to  be  correct,  for  De  Cornusson  passed  it  the  evening 
before.  My  husband,  being  thus  disappointed  in  his 
design,  returned  to  Nerac,  and  entered  at  one  gate  just 
as  Marechal  de  Biron  drew  up  his  troops  before  the 
other.  There  fell  so  heavy  a  rain  at  that  moment 
that  the  musketry  was  of  no  use.  The  King  my  hus- 
band, however,  threw  a  body  of  his  troops  into  a 
vineyard  to  stop  the  Marshal's  progress,  not  being  able 
to  do  more  on  account  of  the  unfavourableness  of  the 
weather. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Marshal  continued  with  his 
troops  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  permitting  only 
two  or  three  of  his  men  to  advance,  who  challenged 
a  like  number  to  break  lances  in  honour  of  their  mis- 
tresses.    The  rest  of  the  army  kept  their  ground,  to 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  217 

mask  their  artillery,  which,  being,  ready  to  play,  they 
opened  to  the  right  and  left,  and  fired  seven  or  eight 
shots  upon  the  town,  one  of  which  struck  the  palace. 
The  Marshal,  having  done  this,  marched  off,  despatch- 
ing a  trumpeter  to  me  with  his  excuse.  He  ac- 
quainted me  that,  had  I  been  alone,  he  would  on  no 
account  have  fired  on  the  town ;  but  the  terms 
of  neutrality  for  the  town,  agreed  upon  by  the 
King,  were,  as  I  well  knew,  in  case  the  King  my 
husband  should  not  be  found  in  it,  and,  if  other- 
wise, they  were  void.  Besides  which,  his  orders 
were  to  attack  the  King  my  husband  wherever  he 
should  find  him. 

I  must  acknowledge  on  every  other  occasion  the 
Marshal  showed  me  the  greatest  respect,  and  appeared 
to  be  much  my  friend.  During  the  war  my  letters 
have  frequently  fallen  into  his  hands,  when  he  as  con- 
stantly forwarded  them  to  me  unopened.  And  when- 
ever my  people  have  happened  to  be  taken  prisoners 
by  his  army,  they  were  always  well  treated  as  soon  as 
they  mentioned  to  whom  they  belonged. 

I  answered  his  message  by  the  trumpeter,  saying 
that  I  well  knew  what  he  had  done  was  strictly  agree- 
able to  the  convention  made  and  the  orders  he  had 
received,  but  that  a  gallant  officer  like  him  would  know 
how  to  do  his  duty  without  giving  his  friends  cause  of 
offence  ;  that  he  might  have  permitted  me  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  King  my  husband's  company  in  N^rac  for 


218  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

three  days,  adding,  that  he  could  not  attack  him,  in 
my  presence,  without  attacking  me ;  and  concluding 
that,  certainly,  I  was  greatly  offended  by  his  conduct, 
and  would  take  the  first  opportunity  of  making  my 
complaint  to  the  King  my  brother. 


LETTER  XXI. 

Situation  of  Affairs  in  Flanders Peace  Brought  About  by 

Due  d'Alengon's  Negotiation.  —  Mar^chal  de  Biron  Apolo- 
gises for  Fii'ing  on  N^rac.  —  Henri  Desperately  in  Love 
with  Fosseuse.  —  Queen  Marguerite  Discovers  Fosseuse  to 

Be  Pregnant,  Which  She  Denies.  —  Fosseuse  in  Labour 

Marguerite's  Generous  Behaviour  to  Her.  —  Marguerite's 
Return  to  Paris. 

The  war  lasted  some  time  longer,  but  with  disad- 
vantage to  the  Huguenots.  The  King  my  husband  at 
length  became  desirous  to  make  a  peace.  I  wrote  on 
the  subject  to  the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother; 
but  so  elated  were  they  both  with  Mar^chal  de  Biron's 
success  that  they  would  not  agree  to  any  terms. 

About  the  time  this  war  broke  out,  Cambray,  which 
had  been  delivered  up  to  my  brother  by  M.  d'Ainsi, 
according  to  his  engagement  with  me,  as  I  have  before 
related,  was  besieged  by  the  forces  of  Spain.  My 
brother  received  the  news  of  this  siege  at  his  castle  of 
Plessis-les-Tours,  whither  he  had  retired  after  his 
return  from  Flanders,  where,  by  the  assistance  of 
the  Comte  de  Lalain,  he  had  been  invested  with 
the  government  of  Mons,  Valenciennes,  and  their 
dependencies. 


220  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

My  brother,  being  anxious  to  relieve  Cambray,  set 
about  raising  an  army  with  all  the  expedition  possible ; 
but,  finding  it  could  not  be  accomplished  very  speedily, 
he  sent  forward  a  reinforcement  under  the  command 
of  M.  de  Balagny,  to  succour  the  place  until  he  arrived 
himself  with  a  sufficient  force  to  raise  the  siege. 
Whilst  he  was  in  the  midst  of  these  preparations  this 
Huguenot  war  broke  out,  and  the  men  he  had  raised 
left  him  to  incorporate  themselves  with  the  King's 
army,  which  had  reached  Gascony. 

My  brother  was  now  without  hope  of  raising  the 
siege,  and  to  lose  Cambray  would  be  attended  with 
the  loss  of  the  other  countries  he  had  just  obtained. 
Besides,  what  he  should  regret  more,  such  losses 
would  reduce  to  great  straits  M.  de  Balagny  and  the 
gallant  troops  so  nobly  defending  the  place. 

His  grief  on  this  occasion  was  poignant,  and,  as  his 
excellent  judgment  furnished  him  with  expedients 
under  all  his  difficulties,  he  resolved  to  endeavour  to 
bring  about  a  peace.  Accordingly  he  despatched  a 
gentleman  to  the  King  with  his  advice  to  accede  to 
terms,  offering  to  undertake  the  treaty  himself.  His 
design  in  offering  himself  as  negotiator  was  to  prevent 
the  treaty  being  drawn  out  to  too  great  a  length,  as 
might  be  the  case  if  confided  to  others.  It  was 
necessary  that  he  should  speedily  relieve  Cambray, 
for  M.  de  Balagny,  who  had  thrown  himself  into  the 
city  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  had  written  to  him 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  221 

that  he  should  be  able  to  defend  the  place  for  six 
months ;  but,  if  he  received  no  succours  within  that 
time,  his  provisions  would  be  all  expended,  and  he 
should  be  obliged  to  give  way  to  the  clamours  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  surrender  the  town. 

By  God's  favour,  the  King  was  induced  to  listen  to 
my  brother's  proposal  of  undertaking  a  negotiation 
for  a  peace.  The  King  hoped  thereby  to  disappoint 
him  in  his  expectations  in  Flanders,  which  he  never 
had  approved.  Accordingly  he  sent  word  back  to  my 
brother  that  he  should  accept  his  proffer  of  negotiating 
a  peace,  and  would  send  him  for  his  coadjutors,  M.  de 
Yilleroy  and  M.  de  Bellievre.  The  commission  my 
brother  was  charged  with  succeeded,  and,  after  a  stay 
of  seven  months  in  Gascony,  he  settled  a  peace  and 
left  us,  his  thoughts  being  employed  during  the  whole 
time  on  the  means  of  relieving  Cambray,  which  the 
satisfaction  he  found  in  being  with  us  could  not 
altogether  abate. 

The  peace  my  brother  made,  as  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, was  so  judiciously  framed  that  it  gave  equal 
satisfaction  to  the  King  and  the  Catholics,  and  to  the 
King  my  husband  and  the  Huguenots,  and  obtained 
him  the  affections  of  both  parties.  He  likewise 
acquired  from  it  the  assistance  of  that  able  general, 
Marechal  de  Biron,  who  undertook  the  command  of 
the  army  destined  to  raise  the  siege  of  Cambray. 
The   King  my  husband  was  equally  gratified  in  the 


222  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Marshal's  removal  from  Gascony  and  having  Mar^chal 
de  Matignon  in  his  place. 

Before  my  brother  set  off  he  was  desirous  to  bring 
about  a  reconciliation  betwixt  the  King  my  husband 
and  Mar^chal  de  Biron,  provided  the  latter  should 
make  his  apologies  to  me  for  his  conduct  at  N^rac. 
My  brother  had  desired  me  to  treat  him  with  all  dis- 
dain, but  I  used  this  hasty  advice  with  discretion, 
considering  that  my  brother  might  one  day  or  other 
repent  having  given  it,  as  he  had  everything  to  hope, 
in  his  present  situation,  from  the  bravery  of  this 
officer. 

My  brother  returned  to  France  accompanied  by 
Mar^chal  de  Biron.  By  his  negotiation  of  a  peace  he 
had  acquired  to  himself  great  credit  with  both  parties, 
and  secured  a  powerful  force  for  the  purpose  of  rais- 
ing the  siege  of  Cambray.  But  honours  and  success 
are  followed  by  envy.  The  King  beheld  this  acces- 
sion of  glory  to  his  brother  with  great  dissatisfaction. 
He  had  been  for  seven  months,  while  my  brother  and 
I  were  together  in  Gascony,  brooding  over  his  malice, 
and  produced  the  strangest  invention  that  can  be 
imagined.  He  pretended  to  believe  (what  the  King 
my  husband  can  easily  prove  to  be  false)  that  I  insti- 
gated him  to  go  to  war  that  I  might  procure  for  my 
brother  the  credit  of  making  peace.  This  is  not  at 
all  probable  when  it  is  considered  the  prejudice  my 
brother's  affairs  in  Flanders  sustained  by  the  war. 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  223 

But  envy  and  malice  are  self-deceivers,  and  pretend 
to  discover  what  no  one  else  can  perceive.  On  this 
frail  foundation  the  King  raised  an  altar  of  hatred, 
on  which  he  swore  never  to  cease  till  he  had  accom- 
plished my  brother's  ruin  and  mine.  He  had  never 
forgiven  me  for  the  attachment  I  had  discovered  for 
my  brother's  interest  during  the  time  he  was  in 
Poland  and  since. 

Fortune  chose  to  favour  the  King's  animosity ;  for, 
during  the  seven  months  that  my  brother  stayed  in 
Gascony,  he  conceived  a  passion  for  Fosseuse,  who 
was  become  the  doting  piece  of  the  King  my  husband, 
as  I  have  already  mentioned,  since  he  had  quitted 
Rebours.  This  new  passion  in  my  brother  had  in- 
duced the  King  my  husband  to  treat  me  with  cold- 
ness, supposing  that  I  countenanced  my  brother's 
addresses.  I  no  sooner  discovered  this  than  I  remon- 
strated with  my  brother,  as  I  knew  he  would  make 
every  sacrifice  for  my  repose.  I  begged  him  to  give 
over  his  pursuit,  and  not  to  speak  to  her  again.  I 
succeeded  this  way  to  defeat  the  malice  of  my  ill- 
fortune  ;  but  there  was  still  behind  another  secret 
ambush,  and  that  of  a  more  fatal  nature ;  for  Fos- 
seuse, who  was  passionately  fond  of  the  King  my 
husband,  but  had  hitherto  granted  no  favours  incon- 
sistent with  prudence  and  modesty,  piqued  by  his 
jealousy  of  my  brother,  gave  herself  up  suddenly  to 
his   will,   and   unfortunately  became   pregnant.     She 


224  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

no  sooner  made  this  discovery,  than  she  altered  her 
conduct  towards  me  entirely  from  what  it  was  before. 
She  now  shunned  my  presence  as  much  as  she  had 
been  accustomed  to  seek  it,  and  whereas  before  she 
strove  to  do  me  every  good  office  with  the  King  my 
husband,  she  now  endeavoured  to  make  all  the  mis- 
chief she  was  able  betwixt  us.  For  his  part,  he 
avoided  me  ;  he  grew  cold  and  indifferent,  and  since 
Fosseuse  ceased  to  conduct  herself  with  discretion, 
the  happy  moments  that  we  experienced  during  the 
four  or  five  years  we  were  together  in  Gascony  were 
no  more. 

Peace  being  restored,  and  my  brother  departed  for 
France,  as  I  have  already  related,  the  King  my  hus- 
band and  I  returned  to  Nerac.  We  were  no  sooner 
there  than  Fosseuse  persuaded  the  King  my  husband 
to  make  a  journey  to  the  waters  of  Aigues-Caudes,  in 
Bdarn,  perhaps  with  a  design  to  rid  herself  of  her 
burden  there.  I  begged  the  King  my  husband  to 
excuse  my  accompanying  him,  as,  since  the  affront 
that  I  had  received  at  Pau,  I  had  made  a  vow  never 
to  set  foot  in  B^arn  until  the  Catholic  religion  was 
reestablished  there.  He  pressed  me  much  to  go  with 
him,  and  grew  angry  at  my  persisting  to  refuse  his 
request.  He  told  me  that  his  little  girl  (for  so  he 
affected  to  call  Fosseuse)  was  desirous  to  go  there 
on  account  of  a  colic,  which  she  felt  frequent  returns 
of.     I  answered  that  I  had  no  objection  to  his  taking 


MARGUERITE    DE    VALOIS.  225 

her  with  him.  He  then  said  that  she  could  not  go 
unless  I  went ;  that  it  would  occasion  scandal,  which 
might  as  well  be  avoided.  He  continued  to  press  me 
to  accompany  him,  but  at  length  I  prevailed  with  him 
to  consent  to  go  without  me,  and  to  take  her  with 
him,  and,  with  her,  two  of  her  companions,  Rebours 
and  Yille-Savin,  together  with  the  governess.  They 
set  out  accordingly,  and  I  waited  their  return  at 
Baviere. 

I  had  every  day  news  from  Rebours,  informing  me 
how  matters  went.  This  Rebours  I  have  mentioned 
before  to  have  been  the  object  of  my  husband's  pas- 
sion, but  she  was  now  cast  off,  and,  consequently,  was 
no  friend  to  Fosseuse,  who  had  gained  that  place  in 
his  affection  she  had  before  held.  She,  therefore, 
strove  all  she  could  to  circumvent  her ;  and,  indeed, 
she  was  fully  qualified  for  such  a  purpose,  as  she  was 
a  cunning,  deceitful  young  person.  She  gave  me  to 
understand  that  Fosseuse  laboured  to  do  me  every 
ill  office  in  her  power ;  that  she  spoke  of  me  with  the 
greatest  disrespect  on  all  occasions,  and  expressed 
her  expectations  of  marrying  the  King  herself,  in  case 
she  should  be  delivered  of  a  son,  when  I  was  to  be 
divorced.  She  had  said,  further,  that  when  the  King 
my  husband  returned  to  Bavidre,  he  had  resolved  to 
go  to  Pau,  and  that  I  should  go  with  him,  whether 
I  would  or  not. 

This  intelligence  was  far  from  being  agreeable  to 


226  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

me,  and  I  knew  not  what  to  think  of  it.  I  trusted 
in  the  goodness  of  God,  and  I  had  a  reliance  on  the 
generosity  of  the  King  my  husband ;  yet  I  passed  the 
time  I  waited  for  his  return  but  uncomfortably,  and 
often  thought  I  shed  more  tears  than  they  drank 
water.  The  Catholic  nobility  of  the  neighbourhood 
of  Baviere  used  their  utmost  endeavours  to  divert  my 
chagrin,  for  the  month  or  five  weeks  that  the  King 
my  husband  and  Fosseuse  stayed  at  Aigues-Caudes. 

On  his  return,  a  certain  nobleman  acquainted  the 
King  my  husband  with  the  concern  I  was  under  lest 
he  should  go  to  Pan,  whereupon  he  did  not  press 
me  on  the  subject,  but  only  said  he  should  have  been 
glad  if  I  had  consented  to  go  with  him.  Perceiving, 
by  my  tears  and  the  expressions  I  made  use  of,  that 
I  should  prefer  even  death  to  such  a  journey,  he 
altered  his  intentions  and  we  returned  to  N^rac. 

The  pregnancy  of  Fosseuse  was  now  no  longer  a 
secret.  The  whole  Court  talked  of  it,  and  not  only 
the  Court,  but  all  the  country.  I  was  willing  to  pre- 
vent the  scandal  from  spreading,  and  accordingly 
resolved  to  talk  to  her  on  the  subject.  With  this 
resolution,  I  took  her  into  my  closet,  and  spoke  to 
her  thus :  "  Though  you  have  for  some  time  es- 
tranged yourself  from  me,  and,  as  it  has  been  reported 
to  me,  striven  to  do  me  many  ill  offices  with  the 
King  my  husband,  yet  the  regard  I  once  had  for 
you,  and  the  esteem  which  I  still  entertain  for  those 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  22T 

honourable  persons  to  whose  family  you  belong,  do 
not  admit  of  my  neglecting  to  afford  you  all  the  as- 
sistance in  my  power  in  your  present  unhappy  situ- 
ation. I  beg  you,  therefore,  not  to  conceal  the  truth, 
it  being  both  for  your  interest  and  mine,  under  whose 
protection  you  are,  to  declare  it.  Tell  me  the  truth, 
and  I  will  act  towards  you  as  a  mother.  You  know 
that  a  contagious  disorder  has  broken  out  in  the 
place,  and,  under  pretence  of  avoiding  it,  I  will  go  to 
Mas-d'Agenois,  which  is  a  house  belonging  to  the 
King  my  husband,  in  a  very  retired  situation.  I  will 
take  you  with  me,  and  such  other  persons  as  you  shall 
name.  Whilst  we  are  there,  the  King  will  take  the 
diversion  of  hunting  in  some  other  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  I  shall  not  stir  thence  before  your  delivery. 
By  this  means  we  shall  put  a  stop  to  the  scandalous 
reports  which  are  now  current,  and  which  concern 
you  more  than  myself." 

So  far  from  showing  any  contrition,  or  returning 
thanks  for  my  kindness,  she  replied,  with  the  utmost 
arrogance,  that  she  would  prove  all  those  to  be  liars 
who  had  reported  such  things  of  her ;  that,  for  my  part, 
I  had  ceased  for  a  long  time  to  show  her  any  marks 
of  regard,  and  she  saw  that  I  was  determined  upon 
her  ruin.  These  words  she  delivered  in  as  loud  a 
tone  as  mine  had  been  mildly  expressed ;  and,  leaving 
me  abruptly,  she  flew  in  a  rage  to  the  King  my  hus- 
band, to  relate  to  him  what  I  had  said  to  her.     He 


228  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

was  very  angry  upon  the  occasion,  and  declared  he 
would  make  them  all  liars  who  had  laid  such  things 
to  her  charge.  From  that  moment  until  the  hour  of 
her  delivery,  which  was  a  few  months  after,  he  never 
spoke  to  me. 

She  found  the  pains  of  labour  come  upon  her  about 
daybreak,  whilst  she  was  in  bed  in  the  chamber  where 
the  maids  of  honour  slept.  She  sent  for  my  physi- 
cian, and  begged  him  to  go  and  acquaint  the  King  my 
husband  that  she  was  taken  ill.  We  slept  in  separate 
beds  in  the  same  chamber,  and  had  done  so  for  some 
time. 

The  physician  delivered  the  message  as  he  was 
directed,  which  greatly  embarrassed  my  husband. 
What  to  do  he  did  not  know.  On  the  one  hand,  he 
was  fearful  of  a  discovery  ;  on  the  other,  he  foresaw 
that,  without  proper  assistance,  there  was  danger  of 
losing  one  he  so  much  loved.  In  this  dilemma,  he 
resolved  to  apply  to  me,  confess  all,  and  implore  my 
aid  and  advice,  well  knowing  that,  notwithstanding 
what  had  passed,  I  should  be  ready  to  do  him  a  pleas- 
ure. Having  come  to  this  resolution,  he  withdrew 
my  curtains,  and  spoke  to  me  thus:  "My  dear,  I 
have  concealed  a  matter  from  you  which  I  now  con- 
fess. I  beg  you  to  forgive  me,  and  to  think  no  more 
about  what  I  have  said  to  you  on  the  subject.  Will 
you  oblige  me  so  far  as  to  rise  and  go  to  Fosseuse, 
who  is  taken  very  ill  ?     I  am  well  assured  that,  in 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  229 

her  present  situation,  you  will  forget  everything  and 
resent  nothing.  You  know  how  dearly  I  love  her, 
and  I  hope  you  will  comply  with  my  request."  I 
answered  that  I  had  too  great  a  respect  for  him  to  be 
offended  at  anything  he  should  do,  and  that  I  would 
go  to  her  immediately,  and  do  as  much  for  her  as  if 
she  were  a  child  of  my  own.  I  advised  him,  in  the 
meantime,  to  go  out  and  hunt,  by  which  means  he 
would  draw  away  all  his  people,  and  prevent  tattling. 

I  removed  Fosseuse,  with  all  convenient  haste,  from 
the  chamber  in  which  the  maids  of  honour  were,  to 
one  in  a  more  retired  part  of  the  palace,  got  a  physi- 
cian and  some  women  about  her,  and  saw  that  she 
wanted  for  nothing  that  was  proper  in  her  situation. 
It  pleased  God  that  she  should  bring  forth  a  daughter, 
since  dead.  As  soon  as  she  was  delivered  I  ordered 
her  to  be  taken  back  to  the  chamber  from  which  she 
had  been  brought.  Notwithstanding  these  precau- 
tions, it  was  not  possible  to  prevent  the  story  from 
circulating  through  the  palace.  When  the  King  my 
husband  returned  from  hunting  he  paid  her  a  visit, 
according  to  custom.  She  begged  that  I  might  come 
and  see  her,  as  was  usual  with  me  when  any  one  of 
my  maids  of  honour  was  taken  ill.  By  this  means 
she  expected  to  put  a  stop  to  stories  to  her  prejudice. 
The  King  my  husband  came  from  her  into  my  bed- 
chamber, and  found  me  in  bed,  as  I  was  fatigued  and 
required  rest,  after  having  been  called  up  so  early. 


230  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

He  begged  me  to  get  up  and  pay  her  a  visit.  I  told 
him  I  went  according  to  his  desire  before,  when  she 
stood  in  need  of  assistance,  but  now  she  wanted  no 
help ;  that  to  visit  her  at  this  time  would  be  only 
exposing  her  more,  and  cause  myself  to  be  pointed  at 
by  all  the  world.  He  seemed  to  be  greatly  displeased 
at  what  I  said,  which  vexed  me  the  more  as  I  thought 
I  did  not  deserve  such  treatment  after  what  I  had 
done  at  his  request  in  the  morning ;  she  likewise 
contributed  all  in  her  power  to  aggravate  matters 
betwixt  him  and  me. 

In  the  meantime,  the  King  my  brother,  always  well 
informed  of  what  is  passing  in  the  families  of  the 
nobility  of  his  kingdom,  was  not  ignorant  of  the  trans- 
actions of  our  Court.  He  was  particularly  curious 
to  learn  everything  that  happened  with  us,  and  knew 
every  minute  circumstance  that  I  have  now  related. 
Thinking  this  a  favourable  occasion  to  wreak  his 
vengeance  on  me  for  having  been  the  means  of  my 
brother  acquiring  so  much  reputation  by  the  peace 
he  had  brought  about,  he  made  use  of  the  accident 
that  happened  in  our  Court  to  withdraw  me  from  the 
King  my  husband,  and  thereby  reduce  me  to  the  state 
of  misery  he  wished  to  plunge  me  in.  To  this  pur- 
pose he  prevailed  on  the  Queen  my  mother  to  write 
to  me,  and  express  her  anxious  desire  to  see  me  after 
an  absence  of  five  or  six  years.  She  added  that  a 
journey  of  this  sort  to  Court  would  be  serviceable  to 


MARGUERITE    DE   VALOIS.  231 

the  affairs  of  the  King  my  husband  as  well  as  my 
own  ;  that  the  King  my  brother  himself  was  desirous  of 
seeing  me,  and  that  if  I  wanted  money  for  the  jour- 
ney he  would  send  it  me.  The  King  wrote  to  the 
same  purpose,  and  despatched  Manique,  the  steward 
of  his  household,  with  instructions  to  use  every  per- 
suasion with  me  to  undertake  the  journey.  The 
length  of  time  I  had  been  absent  in  Gascony,  and 
the  unkind  usage  I  received  on  account  of  Fosseuse, 
contributed  to  induce  me  to  listen  to  the  proposal 
made  me. 

The  King  and  the  Queen  both  wrote  to  me.  I  re- 
ceived three  letters,  in  quick  succession ;  and,  that  I 
might  have  no  pretence  for  staying,  I  had  the  sum  of 
fifteen  hundred  crowns  paid  me  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  my  journey.  The  Queen  my  mother  wrote  that  she 
would  give  me  the  meeting  in  Saintonge,  and  that,  if 
the  King  my  husband  would  accompany  me  so  far, 
she  would  treat  with  him  there,  and  give  him  every 
satisfaction  with  respect  to  the  King.  But  the  King 
and  she  were  desirous  to  have  him  at  their  Court,  as 
he  had  been  before  with  my  brother ;  and  the  Mar^- 
chal  de  Matignon  had  pressed  the  matter  with  the 
King,  that  he  might  have  no  one  to  interfere  with 
him  in  Gascony.  I  had  had  too  long  experience  of 
what  was  to  be  expected  at  their  Court  to  hope  much 
from  all  the  fine  promises  that  were  made  to  me.  I 
had  resolved,  however,  to  avail  myself  of  the  oppor- 


232  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

tunity  of  an  absence  of  a  few  months,  thinking  it 
might  prove  the  means  of  setting  matters  to  rights. 
Besides  which,  I  thought  that,  as  I  should  take  Fos- 
seuse  with  me,  it  was  possible  that  the  King's  passion 
for  her  might  cool  when  she  was  no  longer  in  his 
sight,  or  he  might  attach  himself  to  some  other 
that  was  less  inclined  to  do  me  mischief. 

It  was  with  some  difficulty  that  the  King  my  hus- 
band would  consent  to  a  removal,  so  unwilling  was 
he  to  leave  his  Fosseuse.  He  paid  more  attention 
to  me,  in  hopes  that  I  should  refuse  to  set  out  on  this 
journey  to  France ;  but,  as  I  had  given  my  word  in 
my  letters  to  the  King  and  the  Queen  my  mother 
that  I  would  go,  and  as  I  had  even  received  money 
for  the  purpose,  I  could  not  do  otherwise. 

And  herein  my  ill-fortune  prevailed  over  the  reluc- 
tance I  had  to  leave  the  King  my  husband,  after  the 
instances  of  renewed  love  and  regard  which  he  had 
begun  to  show  me. 


HISTORY   OF  THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS. 


Charles,  Comte  de  Yalois,  was  the  younger  brother 
of  Philip  the  Fair,  and  therefore  uncle  of  the  three  sov- 
ereigns lately  dead.  His  eldest  son  Philip  had  been 
appointed  guardian  to  the  Queen  of  Charles  IV.;  and 
when  it  appeared  that  she  had  given  birth  to  a  daughter, 
and  not  a  son,  the  barons,  joining  with  the  notables  of 
Paris  and  the  good  towns,  met  to  decide  who  was 
by  right  the  heir  to  the  throne,  "  for  the  twelve  peers 
of  France  said  and  say  that  the  Crown  of  France  is  of 
such  noble  estate  that  by  no  succession  can  it  come 
to  a  woman  nor  to  a  woman's  son,"  as  Froissart  tells 
us.  This  being  their  view,  the  baby  daughter  of 
Charles  IV.  was  at  once  set  aside ;  and  the  claim 
of  Edward  III.  of  England,  if,  indeed,  he  ever  made 
it,  rested  on  Isabella  of  France,  his  mother,  sister  of  the 
three  sovereigns.  And  if  succession  through  a  female 
had  been  possible,  then  the  daughters  of  those  three 
kings  "had  rights  to  be  reserved.  It  was,  however, 
clear  that  the  throne  must  go  to  a  man,  and  the  crown 
was  given  to  Philip  of  Valois,  founder  of  a  new  house 
of  sovereigns. 


233 


234  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  new  monarch  was  a  very  formidable  person. 
He  had  been  a  great  feudal  lord,  hot  and  vehement, 
after  feudal  fashion ;  but  he  was  now  to  show  that  he 
could  be  a  severe  master,  a  terrible  king.  He  began 
his  reign  by  subduing  the  revolted  Flemings  on  behalf 
of  his  cousin  Louis  of  Flanders,  and  having  replaced 
him  in  his  dignities,  returned  to  Paris  and  there  held 
high  state  as  King.  And  he  clearly  was  a  great  sover- 
eign ;  the  weakness  of  the  late  King  had  not  seriously 
injured  France ;  the  new  King  was  the  elect  of  the 
great  lords,  and  they  believed  that  his  would  be  a 
new  feudal  monarchy  ;  they  were  in  the  glow  of  their 
revenge  over  the  Flemings  for  the  days  of  Courtrai ; 
his  cousins  reigned  in  Hungary  and  Naples,  his  sisters 
were  married  to  the  greatest  of  the  lords  ;  the  Queen 
of  Navarre  was  his  cousin ;  even  the  youthful  King  of 
England  did  him  homage  for  Guienne  and  Ponthieu. 
The  barons  soon  found  out  their  mistake.  Philip  VI., 
supported  by  the  lawyers,  struck  them  whenever  he 
gave  them  opening;  he  also  dealt  harshly  with  the 
traders,  hampering  them  and  all  but  ruining  them,  till 
the  country  was  alarmed  and  discontented.  On  the 
other  hand,  young  Edward  of  England  had  succeeded 
to  a  troubled  inheritance,  and  at  the  beginning  was 
far  weaker  than  his  rival ;  his  own  sagacity,  and  the 
advance  of  constitutional  rights  in  England,  soon 
enabled  him  to  repair  the  breaches  in  his  kingdom, 
and  to  gather  fresh  strength  from  the  prosperity  and 


HISTORY   OF   THE  HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      235 

good-will  of  a  united  people.  While  France  followed 
a  more  restricted  policy,  England  threw  open  her  ports 
to  all  comers ;  trade  grew  in  London  as  it  waned  in 
Paris ;  bj  his  marriage  with  Philippa  of  Hainault, 
Edward  secured  a  noble  queen,  and  with  her  the  hap- 
piness of  his  subjects  and  the  all-important  friendship 
of  the  Low  Countries.  In  1336  the  followers  of  Philip 
VI.  persuaded  Louis  of  Flanders  to  arrest  the  English 
merchants  then  in  Flanders  ;  whereupon  Edward  retal- 
iated by  stopping  the  export  of  wool,  and  Jacquemart 
Tan  Arteveldt  of  Ghent,  then  at  the  beginning  of  his 
power,  persuaded  the  Flemish  cities  to  throw  off  all 
allegiance  to  their  French-loving  Count,  and  to  place 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  Edward.  In  return 
Philip  VI.  put  himself  in  communication  with  the 
Scots,  the  hereditary  foes  of  England,  and  the  great 
wars  which  were  destined  to  last  116  years,  and  to 
exhaust  the  strength  of  two  strong  nations,  were  now 
about  to  begin.  They  brought  brilliant  and  barren 
triumphs  to  England,  and,  like  most  wars,  were  a  waste- 
ful and  terrible  mistake,  which,  if  crowned  with  ulti- 
mate success,  might,  by  removing  the  centre  of  the 
kingdom  into  France,  have  marred  the  future  welfare 
of  England,  for  the  happy  constitutional  development 
of  the  country  could  never  have  taken  place  with  a 
sovereign  living  at  Paris,  and  French  interests  becom- 
ing ever  more  powerful.  Fortunately,  therefore,  while 
the  war  evoked  by  its  brilliant  successes  the  national 


236  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

pride  of  Englishmen,  by  its  eventual  failure  it  was  pre- 
vented from  inflicting  permanent  damage  on  Engld!nd. 

The  war  began  in  1337  and  ended  in  1453  ;  the 
epochs  in  it  are  the  Treaty  of  Bretigny  in  1360,  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes  in  1422,  the  final  expulsion  of 
the  English  in  1453. 

The  French  King  seems  to  have  believed  himself 
equal  to  the  burdens  of  a  great  war,  and  able  to  carry 
out  the  most  far-reaching  plans.  The  Pope  was 
entirely  in  his  hands,  and  useful  as  a  humble  instru- 
ment to  curb  and  harass  the  Emperor.  Philip  had 
proved  himself  master  of  the  Flemish,  and,  with  help 
of  the  King  of  Scotland,  hoped  so  to  embarrass  Edward 
III.  as  to  have  no  difficulty  in  eventually  driving  him 
to  cede  all  his  French  possessions.  While  he  thought 
it  his  interest  to  wear  out  his  antagonist  without  any 
open  fighting,  it  was  Edward's  interest  to  make  vig- 
orous and  striking  war.  France  therefore  stood  on 
the  defensive ;  England  was  always  the  attacking 
party.  On  two  sides,  in  Flanders  and  in  Brittany, 
France  had  outposts  which,  if  well  defended,  might 
long  keep  the  English  power  away  from  her  vitals. 
Unluckily  for  his  side,  Philip  was  harsh  and  raw,  and 
threw  these  advantages  away.  In  Flanders  the 
repressive  commercial  policy  of  the  Count,  dictated 
from  Paris,  gave  Edward  the  opportunity,  in  the  end 
of  1337,  of  sending  the  Earl  of  Derby,  with  a  strong 
fleet,  to  raise  the  blockade  of  Cadsand,  and  to  open 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     237 

the  Flemish  markets  by  a  brilliant  action,  in  which 
the  French  chivalry  was  found  powerless  against  the 
English  yeoman-archers  ;  and  in  1338  Edward  crossed 
over  to  Antwerp  to  see  what  forward  movement  could 
be  made.  The  other  frontier  war  was  that  of  Brit- 
tany, which  began  a  little  later  (1341).  The  openings 
of  the  war  were  gloomy  and  wasteful,  without  glory. 
Edward  did  not  actually  send  defiance  to  Philip  till 
1339,  when  he  proclaimed  himself  King  of  France, 
and  quartered  the  lilies  of  France  on  the  royal  shield. 
The  Flemish  proved  a  very  reed ;  and  though  the 
French  army  came  up  to  meet  the  English  in 
the  Vermando  country,  no  fighting  took  place,  and 
the  campaign  of  1339  ended  obscurely.  Norman  and 
Genoese  ships  threatened  the  southern  shores  of  Eng- 
land, landing  at  Southampton  and  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight  unopposed.  In  1340  Edward  returned  to  Flan- 
ders ;  on  his  way  he  attacked  the  French  fleet  which  lay 
at  Sluys,  and  utterly  destroyed  it.  The  great  victory 
of  Sluys  gave  England  for  centuries  the  mastery  of 
the  British  channel.  But,  important  as  it  was,  it 
gave  no  success  to  the  land  campaign.  Edward 
wasted  his  strength  on  an  unsuccessful  siege  of 
Tournia,  and,  ill-supported  by  his  Flemish  allies,  could 
achieve  nothing.  The  French  King  in  this  year  seized 
on  Guienne ;  and  from  Scotland  tidings  came  that 
Edinburgh  castle,  the  strongest  place  held  by  the 
English,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Douglas.     Neither 


238  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

from  Flanders  nor  from  Guienne  could  Edward  hope 
to  reach  the  heart  of  the  French  power ;  a  third  inlet 
now  presented  itself  in  Brittany.  On  the  death  of 
John  III.  of  Brittany,  in  1341,  Jean  de  Montfort,  his 
youngest  brother,  claimed  the  great  fief,  against  his 
niece  Jeanne,  daughter  of  his  elder  brother  Guy, 
Comte  de  Penthievre.  He  urged  that  the  Salic  law, 
which  had  been  recognised  in  the  case  of  the  crown, 
should  also  apply  to  this  great  duchy,  so  nearly  an 
independent  sovereignty.  Jeanne  had  been  married 
to  Charles  de  Blois,  whom  John  III.  of  Brittany  had 
chosen  as  his  heir ;  Charles  was  also  nephew  of  King 
Philip,  who  gladly  espoused  his  cause.  Thereon  Jean 
de  Montfort  appealed  to  Edward,  and  the  two  Kings 
met  in  border  strife  in  Brittany.  The  Bretons  sided 
with  John  against  the  influence  of  France.  Both  the 
claimants  were  made  prisoners ;  the  ladies  carried  on 
a  chivalric  warfare,  Jeanne  de  Montfort  against  Jeanne 
de  Blois,  and  all  went  favourably  with  the  French  party 
till  Philip,  with  a  barbarity  as  foolish  as  it  was  scan- 
dalous, tempted  the  chief  Breton  lords  to  Paris  and 
beheaded  them  without  trial.  The  war,  suspended  by  a 
truce,  broke  out  again,  and  the  English  raised  large 
forces  and  supplies,  meaning  to  attack  on  three  sides 
at  once,  —  from  Flanders,  Brittany,  and  Guienne. 
The  Flemish  expedition  came  to  nothing;  for  the 
people  of  Ghent  in  1345  murdered  Jacques  van 
Arteveldt  as  he  was  endeavouring  to  persuade  them  to 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.     239 

receive  the  Prince  of  Wales  as  their  count,  and 
Edward,  on  learning  this  adverse  news,  returned  to 
England.  Thence,  in  July,  IS-iG,  he  sailed  for  Nor- 
mandy, and,  landing  at  La  Hogue,  overran  with  ease 
the  country  up  to  Paris.  He  was  not,  however,  strong 
enough  to  attack  the  capital,  for  Philip  lay  with  a 
large  army  watching  him  at  St.  Denis.  After  a  short 
hesitation  Edward  crossed  the  Seine  at  Poissy,  and 
struck  northwards,  closely  followed  by  Philip.  He 
got  across  the  Somme  safely,  and  at  Cr^cy  in  Ponthieu 
stood  at  bay  to  await  the  French.  Though  his  num- 
bers were  far  less  than  theirs,  he  had  a  good  position, 
and  his  men  were  of  good  stuff ;  and  when  it  came  to 
battle,  the  defeat  of  the  French  was  crushing.  Philip 
had  to  fall  back  with  his  shattered  army ;  Edward 
withdrew  unmolested  to  Calais,  which  he  took  after  a 
long  siege  in  1347.  Philip  had  been  obliged  to  call 
up  his  son  John  from  the  south,  where  he  was  observ- 
ing the  English  under  the  Earl  of  Derby ;  thereupon 
the  English  overran  all  the  south,  taking  Poitiers  and 
finding  no  opposition.  Queen  Philippa  of  Hainault 
had  also  defeated  and  taken  David  of  Scotland  at 
Neville's  Cross. 

The  campaign  of  1346-1347  was  on  all  hands  dis- 
astrous to  King  Philip.  He  sued  for  and  obtained  a 
truce  for  ten  months.  These  were  the  days  of  the 
"  black  death,"  which  raged  in  France  from  1347  to 
1349,  and  completed  the  gloom  of  the  country,  vexed 


240  HISTORIC    COUHT   MEMOIRS. 

by  an  arbitrary  and  grasping  monarch,  by  unsuccess- 
ful war,  and  now  by  the  black  cloud  of  pestilence.  In 
1350  King  Philip  died,  leaving  his  crown  to  John  of 
Normandy.  He  had  added  two  districts  and  a  title  to 
France  :  he  bought  Montpellier  from  James  of  Aragon, 
and  in  1349  also  bought  the  territories  of  Humbert, 
Dauphin  of  Vienne,  who  resigned  the  world  under 
influence  of  the  revived  religion  of  the  time,  a  conse- 
quence of  the  plague,  and  became  a  Carmelite  friar. 
The  fief  and  the  title  of  Dauphin  were  granted  to 
Charles,  the  King's  grandson,  who  was  the  first  per- 
son who  attached  that  title  to  the  heir  to  the  French 
throne.  Apart  from  these  small  advantages,  the 
kingdom  of  France  had  suffered  terribly  from  the 
reign  of  the  false  and  heartless  Philip  VI.  Nor  was 
France  destined  to  enjoy  better  things  under  John 
*'  the  Good,"  one  of  the  worst  sovereigns  with  whom 
she  has  been  cursed.  He  took  as  his  model  and  ex- 
ample the  chivalric  John  of  Bohemia,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  most  extravagant  and  worthless  of  the 
princes  of  his  time,  and  had  perished  in  his  old  age 
at  Cr^cy.  The  first  act  of  the  new  King  was  to  take 
from  his  kinsman,  Charles  "  the  Bad "  of  Navarre, 
Champagne  and  other  lands ;  and  Charles  went  over 
to  the  English  King.  King  John  was  keen  to  fight ; 
the  States  General  gave  him  the  means  for  carrying 
on  war,  by  establishing  the  odious  "  gabelle "  on  salt, 
and  other  imposts.     John  hoped  with  his  new  army 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      241 

to  drive  the  English  completely  out  of  the  country. 
Petty  war  began  again  on  all  the  frontiers,  —  an 
abortive  attack  on  Calais,  a  guerilla  warfare  in  Brit- 
tany, slight  fighting  also  in  Guienne.  Edward  in  1335 
landed  at  Calais,  but  was  recalled  to  pacify  Scotland  ; 
Charles  of  Navarre  and  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  were 
on  the  Breton  border ;  the  Black  Prince  sailed  for 
Bordeaux.  In  1356  he  rode  northward  with  a  small 
army  to  the  Loire,  and  King  John,  hastily  summoning 
all  his  nobles  and  fief-holders,  set  out  to  meet  him. 
Hereon  the  Black  Prince,  whose  forces  were  weak, 
began  to  retreat;  but  the  French  King  outmarched 
and  intercepted  him  near  Poitiers.  He  had  the  Eng- 
lish completely  in  his  power,  and  with  a  little  patience 
could  have  starved  them  into  submission ;  instead,  he 
deemed  it  his  chivalric  duty  to  avenge  Crecy  in  arms, 
and  the  great  battle  of  Poitiers  was  the  result  (19th 
September,  1356).  The  carnage  and  utter  ruin  of 
the  French  feudal  army  was  quite  incredible ;  the 
dead  seemed  more  than  the  whole  army  of  the  Black 
Prince  ;  the  prisoners  were  too  many  to  be  held.  The 
French  army,  bereft  of  leaders,  melted  away,  and  the 
Black  Prince  rode  triumphantly  back  to  Bordeaux 
with  the  captive  King  John  and  his  brave  little  son 
in  his  train.  A  two  years'  truce  ensued ;  King  John 
was  carried  over  to  London,  where  he  found  a  fellow 
in  misfortune  in  David  of  Scotland,  who  had  been  for 
eleven  years  a  captive  in  English  hands.     The  utter 


242  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

degradation  of  the  nobles,  and  the  misery  of  the  coun- 
try, gave  to  the  cities  of  France  an  opportunity  which 
one  great  man,  Etienne  Marcel,  provost  of  the  traders 
at  Paris,  was  not  slow  to  grasp.  He  fortified  the 
capital  and  armed  the  citizens ;  the  civic  clergy  made 
common  cause  with  him ;  and  when  the  Dauphin 
Charles  convoked  the  three  Estates  at  Paris,  it  was 
soon  seen  that  the  nobles  had  become  completely  dis- 
credited and  powerless.  It  was  a  moment  in  which  a 
new  life  might  have  begun  for  France ;  in  vain  did  the 
noble  order  clamour  for  war  and  taxes,  —  they  to  do 
the  war,  with  what  skill  and  success  all  men  now 
knew,  and  the  others  to  pay  the  taxes.  Clergy,  how- 
ever, and  burghers  resisted.  The  Estates  parted,  leav- 
ing what  power  there  was  still  in  France  in  the  hands 
of  Etienne  Marcel.  He  strove  in  vain  to  reconcile 
Charles  the  Dauphin  with  Charles  of  Navarre,  who 
stood  forward  as  a  champion  of  the  towns.  Very 
reluctantly  did  Marcel  entrust  his  fortunes  to  such 
hands.  With  help  of  Lecocq,  Bishop  of  Laon,  he 
called  the  Estates  again  together,  and  endeavoured 
to  lay  down  sound  principles  of  government,  which 
Charles  the  Dauphin  was  compelled  to  accept.  Paris, 
however,  stood  alone,  and'  even  there  all  were  not 
agreed.  Marcel  and  Bishop  Lecocq,  seeing  the  critical 
state  of  things,  obtained  the  release  of  Charles  of  Na- 
varre, then  a  prisoner.  The  result  was  that  ere  long 
the  Dauphin-regent  was  at  open  war  with  Navarre 


HISTORY   OF    THE  HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     243 

and  with  Paris.  The  outbreak  of  the  miserable  peas- 
antry, the  Jacquerie,  who  fought  partly  for  revenge 
against  the  nobles,  partly  to  help  Paris,  darkened  the 
time  ;  they  were  repressed  with  savage  bloodshed,  and 
in  1358  the  Dauphin's  party  in  Paris  assassinated  the 
only  great  man  France  had  seen  for  long.  With  Eti- 
enne  Marcel's  death  all  hope  of  a  constitutional  life 
died  out  from  France ;  the  Dauphin  entered  Paris  and 
set  his  foot  on  the  conquered  liberties  of  his  country. 
Paris  had  stood  almost  alone ;  civic  strength  is  want- 
ing in  France ;  the  towns  but  feebly  supported  Mar- 
cel ;  they  compelled  the  movement  to  lose  its  popular 
and  general  character,  and  to  become  a  first  attempt 
to  govern  France  from  Paris  alone.  After  some  in- 
sincere negotiations,  and  a  fear  of  desultory  warfare, 
in  which  Edward  III.  traversed  France  without  meet- 
ing with  a  single  foe  to  fight,  peace  was  at  last  agreed 
to,  at  Bretigny,  in  May,  1360.  By  this  act  Edward 
III.  renounced  the  French  throne  and  gave  up  all  he 
claimed  or  held  north  of  the  Loire,  while  he  was  se- 
cured in  the  lordship  of  the  south  and  west,  as  well 
as  that  part  of  Northern  Picardy  which  included 
Calais,  Guines,  and  Ponthieu.  The  treaty  also  fixed 
the  ransom  to  be  paid  by  King  John. 

France  was  left  smaller  than  she  had  been  under 
Philip  Augustus,  yet  she  received  this  treaty  with 
infinite  thankfulness ;  worn  out  with  war  and  weak- 
ness, any  diminution  of  territory  seemed  better  to  her 


244  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS, 

than  a  continuance  of  her  unbearable  misfortunes. 
Under  Charles,  first  as  Regent,  then  as  King,  she 
enjoyed  an  uneasy  rest  and  peace  for  twenty  years. 
King  John,  after  returning  for  a  brief  space  to 
France,  went  back  into  his  pleasant  captivity  in  Eng- 
land, leaving  his  country  to  be  ruled  by  the  Regent 
the  Dauphin.  In  1364  he  died,  and  Charles  V.,  "  the 
"Wise,"  became  King  in  name,  as  he  had  now  been  for 
some  years  in  fact.  This  cold,  prudent,  sickly  prince, 
a  scholar  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  great  library 
in  Paris  by  placing  900  MSS.  in  three  chambers  in 
the  Louvre,  had  nothing  to  dazzle  the  ordinary  eye ; 
to  the  timid  spirits  of  that  age  he  seemed  to  be  a 
malevolent  wizard,  and  his  name  of  "  Wise  "  had  in 
it  more  of  fear  than  of  love.  He  also  is  notable  for 
two  things :  he  reformed  the  current  coin,  and  recog- 
nised the  real  worth  of  Du  Guesclin,  the  first  great 
leader  of  mercenaries  in  France,  a  grim  fighting-man, 
hostile  to  the  show  of  feudal  warfare,  and  herald  of  a 
new  age  of  contests,  in  which  the  feudal  levies  would 
fall  into  the  background.  The  invention  of  gunpowder 
in  this  century,  the  incapacity  of  the  great  lords,  the 
rise  of  free  lances  and  mercenary  troops,  all  told  that 
a  new  era  had  arrived.  It  was  by  the  hand  of  Du 
Guesclin  that  Charles  overcame  his  cousin  and  name- 
sake, Charles  of  Navarre,  and  compelled  him  to  peace. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Breton  war  which  followed 
just  after,  he  was  defeated  by  Sir  John  Chandos  and  the 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      245 

partisans  of  Jean  de  Montfort,  who  made  him  pris- 
oner ;  the  Treaty  of  Guerande,  which  followed,  gave 
them  the  dukedom  of  Brittany ;  and  Charles  Y.,  un- 
able to  resist,  was  fain  to  receive  the  new  duke's 
homage,  and  to  confirm  him  in  the  duchy.  The  King 
did  not  rest  till  he  had  ransomed  Du  Guesclin  from 
the  hands  of  Chandos ;  he  then  gave  him  commission 
to  raise  a  paid  army  of  freebooters,  the  scourge  of 
France,  and  to  march  with  them  to  support,  against 
the  Black  Prince,  the  claims  of  Henry  of  Trastamare 
to  the  Crown  of  Castile.  Successful  at  first  by  help 
of  the  King  of  Aragon,  he  was  made  Constable  of 
Spain  at  the  coronation  of  Henry  at  Burgos.  Edward 
the  Black  Prince,  however,  intervened,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Najara  (1367)  Du  Guesclin  was  again  a 
prisoner  in  English  hands,  and  Henry  lost  his  throne. 
Fever  destroyed  the  victorious  host,  and  the  Black 
Prince,  withdrawing  into  Gascony,  carried  with  him 
the  seeds  of  the  disorder  which  shortened  his  days. 
Du  Guesclin  soon  got  his  liberty  again ;  and  Charles 
v.,  seeing  how  much  his  great  rival  of  England  was 
weakened,  determined  at  last  on  open  war.  He  allied 
himself  with  Henry  of  Trastamare,  listened  to  the 
grievances  of  the  Aquitanians,  summoned  the  Black 
Prince  to  appear  and  answer  the  complaints.  In 
1369,  Heniy  defeated  Pedro,  took  him  prisoner,  and 
murdered  him  in  a  brawl ;  thus  perished  the  hopes  of 
the  English  party  in  the  south.     About  the  same  time 


246  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Charles  V.  sent  open  defiance  and  declaration  of  war 
to  England.  Without  delay,  he  surprised  the  English 
in  the  north,  recovering  all  Ponthieu  at  once ;  the 
national  pride  was  aroused ;  Philip,  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, who  had,  through  the  prudent  help  of  Charles, 
lately  won  as  a  bride  the  heiress  of  Flanders,  was 
stationed  at  Rouen,  to  cover  the  western  approach  to 
Paris,  with  strict  orders  not  to  fight ;  the  Aquita- 
nians  were  more  than  half  French  at  heart.  The 
record  of  the  war  is  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace.  We 
see  the  reek  of  burnt  and  plundered  towns ;  there 
were  no  brilliant  feats  of  arms ;  the  Black  Prince, 
gloomy  and  sick,  abandoned  the  struggle,  and  re- 
turned to  England  to  die ;  the  new  governor,  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  did  not  even  succeed  in  landing:  he 
was  attacked  and  defeated  oE  Rochelle  by  Henry  of 
Castile,  his  whole  fleet,  with  all  its  treasure  and 
stores,  taken  or  sunk,  and  he  himself  was  a  prisoner 
in  Henry's  hands.  Du  Guesclin  had  already  driven 
the  English  out  of  the  west  into  Brittany ;  he  now 
overran  Poitou,  which  received  him  gladly ;  all  the 
south  seemed  to  be  at  his  feet.  The  attempt  of  Ed- 
ward III.  to  relieve  the  little  that  remained  to  him  in 
France  failed  utterly,  and  by  1372  Poitou  was  finally 
lost  to  England.  Charles  set  himself  to  reduce  Brit- 
tany with  considerable  success;  a  diversion  from 
Calais  caused  plentiful  misery  in  the  open  country ; 
but,  as  the  French  again  refused  to  fight,  it  did  nothing 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS,      247 

to  restore  the  English  cause.  By  1375  England  held 
nothing  in  France  except  Calais,  Cherbourg,  Bayonne, 
and  Bordeaux.  Edward  III.,  utterly  worn  out  with 
war,  agreed  to  a  truce,  through  intervention  of  the 
Pope ;  it  was  signed  in  1375,  In  1377,  on  its 
expiring,  Charles,  who  in  two  years  had  sedulously  im- 
proved the  state  of  France,  renewed  the  war.  By  sea 
and  land  the  English  were  utterly  overmatched,  and 
by  1378  Charles  was  master  of  the  situation  on  all 
hands.  Now,  however,  he  pushed  his  advantages  too 
far;  and  the  cold  skill  which  had  overthrown  the 
English,  was  used  in  vain  against  the  Bretons,  whose 
duchy  he  desired  to  absorb.  Languedoc  and  Flanders 
also  revolted  against  him.  France  was  heavily  bur- 
dened with  taxes,  and  the  future  was  dark  and  threat- 
ening. In  the  midst  of  these  things,  death  overtook 
the  coldly  calculating  monarch  in  September,  1380. 

Little  had  France  to  hope  from  the  boy  who  was 
now  called  on  to  fill  the  throne.  Charles  YI.  was  not 
twelve  years  old,  a  light- witted,  handsome  boy,  under 
the  guardianship  of  the  royal  Dukes  his  uncles,  who 
had  no  principles  except  that  of  their  own  interest 
to  guide  them  in  bringing  up  the  King  and  ruling 
the  people.  Before  Charles  VI.  had  reached  years 
of  discretion,  he  was  involved  by  the  French  nobles 
in  war  against  the  Flemish  cities,  which,  under  guid- 
ance of  the  great  Philip  van  Arteveldt,  had  over- 
thrown the  authority  of  the  Count  of  Flanders.     The 


248  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

French  cities  showed  ominous  signs  of  being  inclined 
to  ally  themselves  with  the  civic  movement  in  the 
north.  The  men  of  Ghent  came  out  to  meet  their 
French  foes,  and  at  the  battle  of  Roosebek  (1382) 
were  utterly  defeated  and  crushed.  Philip  van  Arte- 
veldt  himself  was  slain.  It  was  a  great  triumph  of 
the  nobles  over  the  cities ;  and  Paris  felt  it  when  the 
King  returned.  All  movement  there  and  in  the  other 
northern  cities  of  France  was  ruthlessly  repressed ; 
the  noble  reaction  also  overthrew  the  "  new  men " 
and  the  lawyers,  by  whose  means  the  late  King  had 
chiefly  governed.  Two  years  later,  the  royal  Dukes 
signed  a  truce  with  England,  including  Ghent  in  it ; 
and  Louis  de  Male,  Count  of  Flanders,  having  per- 
ished at  the  same  time.  Marguerite  his  daughter,  wife 
of  Philip  of  Burgundy,  succeeded  to  his  inheritance 
(1384.)  Thus  began  the  high  fortunes  of  the  House 
of  Burgundy,  which  at  one  time  seemed  to  over- 
shadow Emperor  and  King  of  France.  In  1385, 
another  of  the  brothers,  Louis,  Due  d'Anjou,  died, 
with  all  his  Italian  ambitions  unfulfilled.  In  1386, 
Charles  YL,  under  guidance  of  his  uncles,  declared 
war  on  England,  and  exhausted  all  France  in  prepa- 
rations ;  the  attempt  proved  the  sorriest  failure.  The 
regency  of  the  Dukes  became  daily  more  unpopular, 
until  in  1388  Charles  dismissed  his  two  uncles,  the 
Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Berri,  and  began  to  rule. 
For  a  while  all  went  much  better ;  he  recalled  his 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     249 

father's  friends  and  advisers,  lightened  the  burdens 
of  the  people,  allowed  the  new  ministers  free  hand  in 
making  prudent  government;  and  learning  how  bad 
had  been  the  state  of  the  south  under  the  Due  de 
Berri,  deprived  him  of  that  command  in  1390.  Men 
thought  that  the  young  King,  if  not  good  himself, 
was  well  content  to  allow  good  men  to  govern  in 
his  name ;  at  any  rate,  the  rule  of  the  selfish  Dukes 
seemed  to  be  over.  Their  bad  influences,  however, 
still  surrounded  him  ;  an  attempt  to  assassinate  Olivier 
de  Clisson,  the  Constable,  was  connected  with  their  in- 
trigues and  those  of  the  Duke  of  Brittany ;  and  in  set- 
ting forth  to  punish  the  attempt  on  his  favourite  the 
Constable,  the  unlucky  young  King,  who  had  sapped 
his  health  by  debauchery,  suddenly  became  mad.  The 
Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Berri  at  once  seized  the  reins 
and  put  aside  his  brother  the  'young  Due  d'Orl^ans. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  that  great  civil  discord  be- 
tween Burgundy  and  Orleans,  the  Burgundians  and 
Armagnacs,  which  worked  so  much  ill  for  France  in 
the  earlier  part  of  the  next  century.  The  rule  of  the 
uncles  was  disastrous  for  France;  no  good  govern- 
ment seemed  even  possible  for  that  unhappy  land. 
An  obscure  strife  went  on  until  1404,  when  Duke 
Philip  of  Burgundy  died,  leaving  his  vast  inherit- 
ance to  John  the  Fearless,  the  deadly  foe  of  Louis 
d'Orleans.  Paris  was  with  him,  as  with  his  father 
before  him ;  the  Duke  entered  the  capital  in  1405, 


250  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

and  issued  a  popular  proclamation  against  the  ill- 
government  of  the  Queen-regent  and  Orleans.  Much 
profession  of  a  desire  for  better  things  was  made, 
with  small  results.  So  things  went  on  until  1407, 
when,  after  the  Due  de  Berri,  who  tried  to  play  the 
part  of  a  mediator,  had  brought  the  two  Princes 
together,  the  Due  d'Orl^ans  was  foully  assassinated 
by  a  Burgundian  partisan.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
though  he  at  first  withdrew  from  Paris,  speedily  re- 
turned, avowed  the  act,  and  was  received  with  plaudits 
by  the  mob.  For  a  few  years  the  strife  continued, 
obscure  and  bad ;  a  great  league  of  French  princes  and 
nobles  was  made  to  stem  the  success  of  the  Burgun- 
dians  ;  and  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  Armagnac 
name  became  common.  Paris,  however,  dominated  by 
the  "  Cabochians,"  the  butchers'  party,  the  party  of 
the  "  marrowbones  and  cleavers,"  and  entirely  devoted 
to  the  Burgundians,  enabled  John  the  Fearless  to  hold 
his  own  in  France ;  the  King  himself  seemed  favour- 
able to  the  same  party.  In  1412  the  princes  were 
obliged  to  come  to  terms,  and  the  Burgundian 
triumph  seemed  complete.  In  1413  the  wheel  went 
round,  and  we  find  the  Armagnacs  in  Paris,  rudely 
sweeping  away  all  the  Cabochians  with  their  profes- 
sions of  good  civic  rule.  The  Due  de  Berri  was 
made  captain  of  Paris,  and  for  a  while  all  went 
against  the  Burgundians,  until,  in  1414,  Duke  John 
was  fain  to  make  the  first  Peace  of  Arras,  and  to 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      251 

confess  himself  worsted  in  the  strife.  The  young 
Dauphin  Louis  took  the  nominal  lead  of  the  national 
party,  and  ruled  supreme  in  Paris  in  great  ease  and 
self-indulgence. 

The  year  before,  Henry  V.  had  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  England,  —  a  bright  and  vigorous  young 
man,  eager  to  be  stirring  in  the  world,  brave  and 
fearless,  with  a  stern  grasp  of  things  beneath  all, 
—  a  very  sheet-anchor  of  firmness  and  determined 
character.  Almost  at  the  very  opening  of  his  reign, 
the  moment  he  had  secured  his  throne,  he  began  a 
negotiation  with  France  which  boded  no  good.  He 
offered  to  marry  Catharine,  the  King's  third  daughter, 
and  therewith  to  renew  the  old  Treaty  of  Bretigny,  if 
her  dower  were  Normandy,  Maine,  Anjou,  not  with- 
out a  good  sum  of  money.  The  French  Court,  on  the 
other  hand,  offered  him  her  hand  with  Aquitaine  and 
the  money,  an  offer  rejected  instantly ;  and  Henry 
made  ready  for  a  rough  wooing  in  arms.  In  1415 
he  crossed  to  Harfleur,  and  while  parties  still  fought  in 
France,  after  a  long  and  exhausting  siege,  took  the 
place ;  thence  he  rode  northward  for  Calais,  feeling 
his  army  too  much  reduced  to  attempt  more.  The 
Armagnacs,  who  had  gathered  at  Rouen,  also  pushed 
fast  to  the  north,  and  having  choice  of  passage  over 
the  Somme,  Amiens  being  in  their  hands,  got  before 
King  Henry,  while  he  had  to  make  a  long  round  be- 
fore he  could  get  across  that  stream.    Consequently, 


252  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

when,  on  his  way,  he  reached  Azincourt,  he  found  the 
whole  chivahy  of  France  arrayed  against  him  in  his 
path.  The  great  battle  of  Azincourt  followed,  with 
frightful  ruin  and  carnage  of  the  French.  With  a 
huge  crowd  of  prisoners  the  young  King  passed  on 
to  Calais,  and  thence  to  England.  The  Armagnacs' 
party  lay  buried  in  the  hasty  graves  of  Azincourt ; 
never  had  there  been  such  slaughter  of  nobles.  Still, 
for  three  years  they  made  head  against  their  foes ; 
till  in  1418  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  friends  opened 
Paris's  gates  to  his  soldiers,  and  for  the  time  the 
Armagnacs  seemed  to  be  completely  defeated  ;  only 
the  Dauphin  Charles  made  feeble  war  from  Poitiers. 
Henry  V.  with  a  fresh  army  had  already  made  another 
descent  on  the  Normandy  coast ;  the  Dukes  of  Anjou, 
Brittany,  and  Burgundy  made  several  and  independent 
treaties  with  him ;  and  it  seemed  as  though  France 
had  completely  fallen  in  pieces.  Henry  took  Rouen, 
and  although  the  common  peril  had  somewhat  silenced 
the  strife  of  faction,  no  steps  were  taken  to  meet  him 
or  check  his  course ;  on  the  contrary,  matters  were 
made  even  more  hopeless  by  the  murder  of  John, 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  in  1419,  even  as  he  was  kneel- 
ing and  offering  reconciliation  at  the  young  Dauphin's 
feet.  The  young  Duke,  Philip,  now  drew  at  once  to- 
wards Henry,  whom  his  father  had  apparently  wished 
with  sincerity  to  check ;  Paris,  too,  was  weary  of  the 
Armagnac  struggle,  and  desired  to  welcome  Henry  of 


HISTORY  OF   THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      253 

England  ;  the  Queen  of  France  also  went  over  to  the 
Anglo-Burgundian  side.  The  end  of  it  was  that  on 
May  21, 1420,  was  signed  the  famous  Treaty  of  Troyes, 
which  secured  the  Crown  of  France  to  Henry,  by  the 
exclusion  of  the  Dauphin  Charles,  whenever  poor 
mad  Charles  VI.  should  cease  to  live.  Meanwhile, 
Henry  was  made  Regent  of  France,  promising  to 
maintain  all  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Parliament 
and  nobles,  and  to  crush  the  Dauphin  with  his  Ar- 
magnac  friends,  in  token  whereof  he  was  at  once 
wedded  to  Catharine  of  France,  and  set  forth  to 
quell  the  opposition  of  the  provinces.  By  Christ- 
mas all  France  north  of  the  Loire  was  in  English 
hands.  All  the  lands  to  the  south  of  the  river  re- 
mained firmly  fixed  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Dauphin 
and  the  Armagnacs,  and  these  began  to  feel  them- 
selves to  be  the  true  French  party,  as  opposed  to 
the  foreign  rule  of  the  English.  For  barely  two 
years  that  rule  was  carried  on  by  Henry  V.  with  in- 
flexible justice,  and  Northern  France  saw  with  amaze- 
ment the  presence  of  a  real  king,  and  an  orderly 
government.  In  1422  King  Henry  died ;  a  few  weeks 
later  Charles  VI.  died  also,  and  the  face  of  affairs 
began  to  change,  although,  at  the  first,  Charles  VII. 
the  "  Well-served,"  the  lazy,  listless  prince,  seemed 
to  have  little  heart  for  the  perils  and  efforts  of  his 
position.  He  was  proclaimed  King  at  Mehun,  in 
Berri,  for  the  true  France  for  the  time  lay  on  that 


254  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

side  of  the  Loire,  and  the  Regent  Bedford,  who  took 
the  reins  at  Paris,  was  a  vigorous  and  powerful 
prince,  who  was  not  likely  to  give  way  to  an  idle 
dreamer.  At  the  outset  Charles  suffered  two  de- 
feats, at  Crevant  in  1423,  and  at  Verneuil  in  1424, 
and  things  seemed  to  be  come  to  their  worst.  Yet  he 
was  prudent,  conciliatory,  and  willing  to  wait ;  and  as 
the  English  power  in  France  —  that  triangle  of  which 
the  base  was  the  sea-line  from  Harfleur  to  Calais,  and 
the  apex  Paris  —  was  unnatural  and  far  from  being 
really  strong;  and  as  the  relations  between  Bedford 
and  Burgundy  might  not  always  be  friendly,  the  man 
who  could  wait  had  many  chances  in  his  favour.  Be- 
fore long,  things  began  to  mend ;  Charles  wedded  Marie 
d'Anjou,  and  won  over  that  great  house  to  the  French 
side ;  more  and  more  was  he  regarded  as  the  nation's 
King;  symptoms  of  a  wish  for  reconciliation  with 
Burgundy  appeared  ;  the  most  vehement  Armagnacs 
were  sent  away  from  Court.  Causes  of  disagreement 
also  shook  the  friendship  between  Burgundy  and 
England. 

Feeling  the  evils  of  inaction  most,  Bedford  in  1428 
decided  on  a  forward  movement,  and  sent  the  Earl  of 
Salisbury  to  the  south.  He  first  secured  his  position 
on  the  north  of  the  Loire,  then,  crossing  that  river,  laid 
siege  to  Orleans,  the  key  to  the  south,  and  the  last 
bulwark  of  the  national  party.  All  efforts  to  vex  or 
dislodge  him  failed  ;  and  the  attempt  early  in  1429  to 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      255 

stop  the  English  supplies  was  completely  defeated  at 
Bouvray ;  from  the  salt  fish  captured,  the  battle  has 
taken  the  name  of  "  the  Day  of  the  Herrings."  Dunois, 
Bastard  of  Orleans,  was  wounded;  the  Scots,  the 
King's  body-guard,  on  whom  fell  ever  the  grimmest  of 
the  fighting,  suffered  terribly,  and  their  leader  was 
killed.  All  went  well  for  Bedford  till  it  suited  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  to  withdraw  from  his  side,  carry- 
ing with  him  a  large  part  of  the  fighting  power  of  the 
besiegers.  Things  were  already  looking  rather  gloomy 
in  the  English  camp,  when  a  new  and  unexpected 
rumour  struck  all  hearts  cold  with  fear.  A  virgin, 
an  Amazon,  had  been  raised  up  as  a  deliverer  for 
France,  and  would  soon  be  on  them,  armed  with  mys- 
terious powers. 

A  young  peasant  girl,  one  Jeanne  d'Arc,  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  village  of  Domr^my,  hard  by  the 
Lorraine  border.  The  district,  always  French  in 
feeling,  had  lately  suffered  much  from  Burgundian 
raids ;  and  this  young  damsel,  brooding  over  the 
treatment  of  her  village  and  her  country,  and  filled 
with  that  strange  vision-power  which  is  no  rare  phe- 
nomenon in  itself  with  young  girls,  came  at  last  to 
believe  with  warm  and  active  faith  in  heavenly  appear- 
ances and  messages,  all  urging  her  to  deliver  France 
and  her  King.  From  faith  to  action  the  bridge  is 
short ;  and  ere  long  the  young  dreamer  of  seventeen 
set  forth  to  work  her  miracle.     Her  history  is  quite 


256  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

unique  in  the  world ;  and  though  probably  France 
would  ere  many  years  have  shaken  off  the  English 
yoke,  for  its  strength  was  rapidly  going,  still  to  her  is 
the  credit  of  having  proved  its  weakness,  and  of  hav- 
ing asserted  the  triumphant  power  of  a  great  belief. 
All  gave  way  before  her;  Charles  VII.,  persuaded 
doubtless  by  his  mother-in-law,  Yolande  of  Aragon, 
who  warmly  espoused  her  cause,  listened  readily  to 
the  maiden's  voice  ;  and  as  that  voice  urged  only  what 
was  noble  and  pure,  she  carried  conviction  as  she 
went.  In  the  end  she  received  the  King's  commission 
to  undertake  the  relief  of  Orleans.  Her  coming  was 
fresh  blood  to  the  defence  ;  a  new  spirit  seemed  to  be 
poured  out  on  all  her  followers,  and  in  like  manner 
a  deep  dejection  settled  down  on  the  English.  The 
blockade  was  forced,  and  in  eight  days  the  besiegers 
raised  the  siege  and  marched  away.  They  withdrew 
to  Jargeau,  where  they  were  attacked  and  routed  with 
great  loss.  A  little  later  Talbot  himself,  who  had 
marched  to  help  them,  was  also  defeated  and  taken. 
Then,  compelling  Charles  to  come  out  from  his  in- 
glorious ease,  she  carried  him  triumphantly  with  her 
to  Rheims,  where  he  was  duly  crowned  King,  the  Maid 
of  Orleans  standing  by,  and  holding  aloft  the  royal 
standard. 

She  would  gladly  have  gone  home  to  Domr^my  now, 
her  mission  being  accomplished ;  for  she  was  entirely 
free  from  all  ambitious  or  secondary  aims.     But  she 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE    OF    VALOIS.      25T 

was  too  great  a  power  to  be  spared.  IS  orthern  France 
was  still  in  English  hands,  and  till  the  English  were 
cast  out  her  work  was  not  complete ;  so  they  made 
her  stay,  sweet  child,  to  do  the  work  which,  had  there 
been  any  manliness  in  them,  they  ought  to  have  found 
it  easy  to  achieve  for  themselves.  The  dread  of  her 
went  before  her,  —  a  pillar  of  cloud  and  darkness  to 
the  English,  but  light  and  hope  to  her  countrymen. 
Men  believed  that  she  was  called  of  God  to  regenerate 
the  world,  to  destroy  the  Saracen  at  last,  to  bring  in 
the  millennial  age.  Her  statue  was  set  up  in  the 
churches,  and  crowds  prayed  before  her  image  as 
before  a  popular  saint. 

The  incapacity  and  ill-faith  of  those  round  the  King 
gave  the  English  some  time  to  recover  themselves ; 
Bedford  and  Burgundy  drew  together  again,  and  steps 
were  taken  to  secure  Paris.  When,  however,  Jeanne, 
weary  of  courtly  delays,  marched,  contemptuous  of 
the  King,  as  far  as  St.  Denis,  friends  sprang  up  on 
every  side.  In  Normandy,  on  the  English  line  of 
communications,  four  strong  places  were  surprised ; 
and  Bedford,  made  timid  as  to  his  supplies,  fell  back 
to  Rouen,  leaving  only  a  small  garrison  in  Paris. 
Jeanne,  ill -supported  by  the  royal  troops,  failed  in  her 
attack  on  the  city  walls,  and  was  made  prisoner  by 
the  Burgundians  ;  they  handed  her  over  to  the  Eng- 
lish, and  she  was,  after  previous  indignities,  and  such 
treatment   as   chivalry  alone  could  have    dealt   her, 


258  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

condemned  as  a  witch,  and  burnt  as  a  relapsed  heretic 
at  Rouen  in  1431.  Betrayed  by  the  French  Court, 
sold  by  the  Burgundians,  murdered  by  the  English, 
unrescued  by  the  people  of  France  which  she  so  much 
loved,  Jeanne  d'Arc  died  the  martyr's  death,  a  pious, 
simple  soul,  a  heroine  of  the  purest  metal.  She  saved 
her  country,  for  the  English  power  never  recovered 
from  the  shock.  The  churchmen  who  burnt  her,  the 
Frenchmen  of  the  unpatriotic  party,  would  have  been 
amazed  could  they  have  foreseen  that  nearly  450  year& 
afterwards,  churchmen  again  would  glorify  her  name 
as  the  saint  of  the  Church,  in  opposition  to  both  the 
religious  liberties  and  the  national  feelings  of  her 
country. 

The  war,  after  having  greatly  weakened  the  no- 
blesse, and  having  caused  infinite  sufferings  to  France, 
now  drew  towards  a  close  ;  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  at 
last  agreed  to  abandon  his  English  allies,  and  at  a 
great  congress  at  Arras,  in  1435,  signed  a  treaty  with 
Charles  VII.  by  which  he  solemnly  came  over  to 
the  French  side.  On  condition  that  he  should  get 
Auxerre  and  Macon,  as  well  as  the  towns  on  and  near 
the  river  Somme,  he  was  willing  to  recognise  Charles 
as  King  of  France.  His  price  was  high,  yet  it  was 
worth  all  that  was  given ;  for,  after  all,  he  was  of  the 
French  blood  royal,  and  not  a  foreigner.  The  death 
of  Bedford,  which  took  place  about  the  same  time, 
was  almost  a  more  terrible  blow  to  the  fortunes  of 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     25^ 

the  English.  Paris  opened  her  gates  to  her  King  in 
April,  1436  ;  the  long  war  kept  on  with  slight  move- 
ments now  and  then  for  several  years. 

The  next  year  was  marked  by  the  meeting  of  the 
States  General,  and  the  establishment,  in  principle  at 
least,  of  a  standing  army.  The  Estates  petitioned 
the  willing  King  that  the  system  of  finance  in  the 
realm  should  be  remodelled,  and  a  permanent  tax 
established  for  the  support  of  an  army.  Thus,  it  was 
thought,  solidity  would  be  given  to  the  royal  power, 
and  the  long-standing  curse  of  the  freebooters  and 
brigands  cleared  away.  No  sooner  was  this  done 
than  the  nobles  began  to  chafe  under  it ;  they  scented 
in  the  air  the  coming  troubles ;  they  took  as  their 
head,  poor  innocents,  the  young  Dauphin  Louis,  who 
was  willing  enough  to  resist  the  concentration  of 
power  in  royal  hands.  Their  champion  of  1439,  the 
leader  of  the  "  Praguerie,"  as  this  new  league  was 
called,  in  imitation,  it  is  said,  of  the  Hussite  move- 
ment at  Prague,  the  enthusiastic  defender  of  noble 
privilege  against  the  royal  power,  was  the  man  who 
afterwards,  as  Louis  XL,  was  the  destroyer  of  the 
noblesse  on  behalf  of  royalty.  Some  of  the  nobles 
stood  firmly  by  the  King,  and,  aided  by  them  and  by 
an  army  of  paid  soldiers  serving  under  the  new  con- 
ditions, Charles  VII.,  no  contemptible  antagonist  when 
once  aroused,  attacked  and  overthrew  the  Praguerie  ; 
the  cities  and  the  country  people  would  have  none  of 


260  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

it;  they  preferred  peace  under  a  king's  strong  hand. 
Louis  was  sent  down  to  the  east  to  govern  Dauphiny ; 
the  lessons  of  the  civil  war  were  not  lost  on  Charles ; 
he  crushed  the  freebooters  of  Champagne,  drove  the 
English  out  of  Pontois  in  1441,  moved  actively  up  and 
down  France,  reducing  anarchy,  restoring  order,  resist- 
ing English  attacks.  In  the  last  he  was  loyally  sup- 
ported by  the  Dauphin,  who  was  glad  to  find  a  field 
for  his  restless  temper.  He  repulsed  the  English  at 
Dieppe,  and  put  down  the  Comte  d'Armagnac  in  the 
south.  During  the  two  years'  truce  with  England 
which  now  followed,  Charles  VII.  and  Louis  drew  off 
their  free-lances  eastward,  and  the  Dauphin  came  into 
rude  collision  with  the  Swiss  not  far  from  Basel,  in 
1444.  Some  sixteen  hundred  mountaineers  long  and 
heroically  withstood  at  St.  Jacob  the  attack  of  several 
thousand  Frenchmen,  fighting  stubbornly  till  they  all 
perished. 

The  King  and  Dauphin  returned  to  Paris,  having 
defended  their  border-lands  with  credit,  and  having 
much  reduced  the  numbers  of  the  lawless  free-lances. 
The  Dauphin,  discontented  again,  was  obliged  once 
more  to  withdraw  into  Dauphiny,  where  he  governed 
prudently  and  with  activity.  In  1449,  the  last  scene 
of  the  Anglo-French  war  began.  In  that  year  English 
adventurers  landed  on  the  Breton  coast;  the  D  :ke 
called  the  French  King  to  his  aid,  Charles  did  not 
tarry  this  time;  he  broke  the  truce  with  England, 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF    VALOIS.      261 

sent  Dunois  into  Normandy,  and  himself  soon  fol- 
lowed. In  both  duchies,  Brittany  and  Normandy, 
the  French  were  welcomed  with  delight :  no  love 
for  England  lingered  in  the  west.  Somerset  and 
Talbot  failed  to  defend  Rouen,  and  were  driven  from 
point  to  point,  till  every  stronghold  was  lost  to  them. 
Dunois  then  passed  into  Guienne,  and  in  a  few  months 
Bayonne,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  English,  fell  into 
his  hands  (1451).  When  Talbot  was  sent  over  to 
Bordeaux  with  five  thousand  men  to  recover  the 
south,  the  old  English  feeling  revived,  for  England 
was  their  best  customer,  and  they  had  little  in  com- 
mon with  France.  It  was,  however,  but  a  last  flicker 
of  the  flame ;  in  July,  1453,  at  the  siege  of  Castillon, 
the  aged  Talbot  was  slain  and  the  war  at  once  came 
to  an  end ;  the  south  passed  finally  into  the  kingdom 
of  France.  Normandy  and  Guienne  were  assimilated 
to  France  in  taxation  and  army  organisation ;  and  all 
that  remained  to  England  across  the  Channel  was 
Calais,  with  Havre  and  Guines  Castle.  Her  foreign 
ambitions  and  struggles  over,  England  was  left  to 
consume  herself  in  civil  strife,  while  France  might 
rest  and  recover  from  the  terrible  sufferings  she  had 
undergone.  The  state  of  the  country  had  become  ut- 
terly wretched. 

With  the  end  of  the  English  wars  new  life  began 
to  gleam  out  on  France ;  the  people  grew  more  tran- 
quil, finding  that  toil  and  thrift  bore  again  their  whole- 


262  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

some  fruits ;  Charles  VII.  did  not  fail  in  his  duty,  and 
took  his  part  in  restoring  quiet,  order,  and  justice  in 
the  land. 

The  French  Crown,  though  it  had  beaten  back  the 
English,  was  still  closely  girt  in  with  rival  neighbours, 
the  great  dukes  on  every  frontier.  All  round  the 
east  and  north  lay  the  lands  of  Philip  of  Burgundy ; 
to  the  west  was  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  cherishing  a 
jealous  independence ;  the  royal  Dukes,  Berri,  Bour- 
bon, Anjou,  are  all  so  many  potential  sources  of  danger 
and  difhculty  to  the  Crown.  The  conditions  of  the 
nobility  are  altogether  changed ;  the  old  barons  have 
sunk  into  insignificance ;  the  struggle  of  the  future 
will  lie  between  the  King's  cousins  and  himself,  rather 
than  with  the  older  lords.  A  few  non-royal  princes, 
such  as  Armagnac,  or  Saint-Pol,  or  Brittany,  remain 
and  will  go  down  with  the  others ;  the  "  new  men  " 
of  the  day,  the  bastard  Dunois  or  the  Conn^tables  Du 
Guesclin  and  Clisson,  grow  to  greater  prominence ;  it 
is  clear  that  the  old  feudalism  is  giving  place  to  a 
newer  order,  in  which  the  aristocracy,  from  the  King's 
brothers  downwards,  will  group  themselves  around  the 
throne,  and  begin  the  process  which  reaches  its  un- 
happy perfection  under  Louis  XIV. 

Directly  after  the  expulsion  of  the  English,  troubles 
began  between  King  Charles  VII.  and  the  Dauphin 
Louis ;  the  latter  could  not  brook  a  quiet  life  in 
Dauphiny,  and  the  King  refused  him  that  larger  sphere 


HISTORY   OF   THE   IIGUSE   OF   VALOIS.     263 

in  the  government  of  Normandy  which  he  coveted. 
Against  his  father's  will,  Louis  married  Charlotte  of  Sa- 
voy, daughter  of  his  strongest  neighbour  in  Dauphiny  ; 
suspicion  and  bad  feeling  grew  strong  between  father 
and  son ;  Louis  was  specially  afraid  of  his  father's 
counsellors ;  the  King  was  specially  afraid  of  his  son's 
craftiness  and  ambition.  It  came  to  an  open  rupture, 
and  Louis,  in  1456,  fled  to  the  Court  of  Duke  Philip  of 
Burgundy.  There  he  lived  at  refuge  at  Geneppe, 
meddling  a  good  deal  in  Burgundian  politics,  and 
already  opposing  himself  to  his  great  rival,  Charles  of 
Charolais,  afterwards  Charles  the  Bold,  the  last  Duke 
of  Burgundy.  Bickerings,  under  his  bad  influence, 
took  place  between  King  and  Duke ;  they  never  burst 
out  into  flame.  So  things  went  on  uncomfortably 
enough,  till  Charles  YII.  died  in  1461  and  the  reign 
of  Louis  XI.  began. 

Between  father  and  son  what  contrast  could  be 
greater  ?  Charles  VIL,  "  the  Well-served,"  so  easy- 
going, so  open  and  free  from  guile ;  Louis  XL,  so  shy 
of  counsellors,  so  energetic  and  untiring,  so  close  and 
guileful.  History  does  but  apologise  for  Charles,  and 
even  when  she  fears  and  dislikes  Louis,  she  cannot 
forbear  to  wonder  and  admire.  And  yet  Louis  en- 
slaved his  country,  while  Charles  had  seen  it  rescued 
from  foreign  rule ;  Charles  restored  something  of  its 
prosperity,  while  Louis  spent  his  life  in  crushing  its 
institutions  and  in  destroying  its  elements  of  indepen- 


264  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

dence.  A  great  and  terrible  prince,  Louis  XI.  failed 
in  having  little  or  no  constructive  power ;  he  was 
strong  to  throw  down  the  older  society,  he  built  little 
in  its  room.  Most  serious  of  all  was  his  action 
with  respect  to  the  district  of  the  River  Somme,  at 
that  time  the  northern  frontier  of  France.  The  towns 
there  had  been  handed  over  to  Philip  of  Burgundy  by 
the  Treaty  of  Arras,  with  a  stipulation  that  the  Crown 
might  ransom  them  at  any  time,  and  this  Louis  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  in  1463.  The  act  was  quite  blameless 
and  patriotic  in  itself,  yet  it  was  exceedingly  unwise, 
for  it  thoroughly  alienated  Charles  the  Bold,  and 
led  to  the  wars  of  the  earlier  period  of  the  reign. 
Lastly,  as  if  he  had  not  done  enough  to  offend  the 
nobles,  Louis  in  1464  attacked  their  hunting  rights, 
touching  them  in  their  tenderest  part.  No  wonder 
that  this  year  saw  the  formation  of  a  great  league 
against  him,  and  the  outbreak  of  a  dangerous  civil 
war.  The  "  League  of  the  Public  Weal  "  was  nomi- 
nally headed  by  his  own  brother  Charles,  heir  to  the 
throne  ;  it  was  joined  by  Charles  of  Charolais,  who 
had  completely  taken  the  command  of  affairs  in  the 
Burgundian  territories,  his  father  the  old  duke  being 
too  feeble  to  withstand  him  ;  the  Dukes  of  Brittany, 
Nemours,  Bourbon,  John  of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Calabria, 
the  Comte  d'Armagnac,  the  aged  Dunois,  and  a  host 
of  other  princes  and  nobles  flocked  in ;  and  the  King 
had  scarcely  any  forces  at  his  back   with    which   to 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      265 

withstand  them.  His  plans  for  the  campaign  against 
the  league  were  admirable,  though  they  were  frus- 
trated by  the  bad  faith  of  his  captains,  who  mostly 
sympathised  with  this  outbreak  of  the  feudal  nobility. 
Louis  himself  marched  southward  to  quell  the  Due 
de  Bourbon  and  his  friends,  and  returning  from  that 
task,  only  half  done  for  lack  of  time,  he  found 
that  Charles  of  Charolais  had  passed  by  Paris,  which 
was  faithful  to  the  King,  and  was  coming  down  south- 
wards, intending  to  join  the  Dukes  of  'Berri  and  Brit- 
tany, who  were  on  their  way  towards  the  capital.  The 
hostile  armies  met  at  Montleheri  on  the  Orleans  road ; 
and  after  a  strange  battle  —  minutely  described  by 
Commines  —  a  battle  in  which  both  sides  ran  away, 
and  neither  ventured  at  first  to  claim  a  victory,  the 
King  withdrew  to  Corbeil,  and  then  marched  into 
Paris  (1465).  There  the  armies  of  the  league  closed 
in  on  him ;  and  after  a  siege  of  several  weeks,  Louis, 
feeling  disaffection  all  around  him,  and  doubtful  how 
long  Paris  herself  would  bear  for  him  the  burdens  of 
blockade,  signed  the  Peace  of  Conflans,  which,  to  all  ap- 
pearances, secured  the  complete  victory  to  the  noblesse, 
"  each  man  carrying  off  his  piece."  Instantly  the 
contented  princes  broke  up  their  half-starved  armies 
and  went  home,  leaving  Louis  behind  to  plot  and  con- 
trive against  them,  a  far  wiser  man,  thanks  to  the 
lesson  they  had  taught  him.  They  did  not  let  him 
wait  long  for  a  chance.     The  Treaty  of  Conflans  had 


266  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

given  the  duchy  of  Normandy  to  the  King's  brother 
Charles ;  he  speedily  quarrelled  with  his  neighbour,  the 
Duke  of  Brittany,  and  Louis  came  down  at  once  into 
Normandy,  which  threw  itself  into  his  arms,  and  the 
whole  work  of  the  league  was  broken  up.  The  Comte 
de  Charolais,  occupied  with  revolts  at  Dinan  and  Liege, 
could  not  interfere,  and  presently  his  father,  the  old 
Duke  Philip,  died  (1467),  leaving  to  him  the  vast 
lordships  of  the  House  of  Burgundy. 

And  now  the  "  imperial  dreamer,"  Charles  the 
Bold,  was  brought  into  immediate  rivalry  with  that 
royal  trickster,  the  "  universal  spider,"  Louis  XL 
Charles  was  by  far  the  nobler  spirit  of  the  two :  his 
vigour  and  intelligence,  his  industry  and  wish  to  raise 
all  around  him  to  a  higher  cultivation,  his  wise  re- 
forms at  home,  and  attempts  to  render  his  father's 
dissolute  and  careless  rule  into  a  well-ordered  lord- 
ship, —  all  these  things  marked  him  out  as  the  lead- 
ing spirit  of  the  time.  His  territories  were  partly 
held  under  France,  partly  under  the  empire :  the 
Artois  district,  which  also  may  be  taken  to  include 
the  Somme  towns,  the  county  of  Rhetel,  the  duchy  of 
Bar,  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  with  Auxerre  and 
Nevers,  were  feudally  in  France  ;  the  rest  of  his  lands 
under  the  empire.  He  had,  therefore,  interests  and 
means  of  interference  on  either  hand ;  and  it  is  clear 
that  Charles  set  before  himself  two  different  lines  of 
policy,  according  as  he  looked  one  way  or  the  other. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      267 

At  the  time  of  Duke  Philip's  death  a  new  league 
had  been  formed  against  Louis,  embracing  the  King 
of  England,  Edward  IV.,  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy 
and  Brittany,  and  the  Kings  of  Aragon  and  Castile. 
Louis  strained  every  nerve,  he  conciliated  Paris,  struck 
hard  at  disaffected  partisans,  and  in  1468  convoked 
the  States  General  at  Tours.  The  three  Estates  were 
asked  to  give  an  opinion  as  to  the  power  of  the 
Crown  to  alienate  Normandy,  the  step  insisted  upon 
by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Their  reply  was  to  the 
effect  that  the  nation  forbids  the  Crown  to  dismember 
the  realm ;  they  supported  their  opinion  by  liberal 
promises  of  help.  Thus  fortified  by  the  sympathy 
of  his  people,  Louis  began  to  break  up  the  coalition. 
He  made  terms  with  the  Due  de  Bourbon  and  the 
House  of  Anjou ;  his  brother  Charles  was  a  cipher ; 
the  King  of  England  was  paralysed  by  the  antagonism 
of  Warwick ;  he  attacked  and  reduced  Brittany ;  Bur- 
gundy, the  most  formidable,  alone  remained  to  be 
dealt  with.  How  should  he  meet  him  ?  —  by  war  or 
by  negotiation  ?  His  Court  was  divided  in  opinion ; 
the  King  decided  for  himself  in  favour  of  the  way 
of  negotiation,  and  came  to  the  astonishing  conclu- 
sion that  he  would  go  and  meet  the  Duke  and  win 
him  over  to  friendship.  He  miscalculated  both  his 
own  powers  of  persuasion  and  the  force  of  his  an- 
tagonist's temper.  The  interview  of  Peromie  fol- 
lowed; Charles  held  his  visitor  as  a  captive,  and  in 


268  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  end  compelled  him  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace,  on 
the  basis  of  that  of  Conflans,  which  had  closed  the 
War  of  the  Public  Weal.  And  as  if  this  were  not 
sufficient  humiliation,  Charles  made  the  King  accom- 
pany him  on  his  expedition  to  punish  the  men  of 
Li^ge,  who,  trusting  to  the  help  of  Louis,  had  again 
revolted  (1469).  This  done,  he  allowed  the  degraded 
monarch  to  return  home  to  Paris.  An  assembly  of 
notables  of  Tours  speedily  declared  the  Treaty  of  Pe- 
ronne  null,  and  the  King  made  some  small  frontier 
war  on  the  Duke,  which  was  ended  by  a  truce  at 
Amiens,  in  1471.  The  truce  was  spent  in  preparation 
for  a  fresh  struggle,  which  Louis,  to  whom  time  was 
everything,  succeeded  in  deferring  from  point  to  point, 
till  the  death  of  his  brother  Charles,  now  Due  de 
Guienne,  in  1472,  broke  up  the  formidable  combina- 
tion. Charles  the  Bold  at  once  broke  truce  and  made 
war  on  the  King,  marching  into  northern  France, 
sacking  towns  and  ravaging  the  country,  till  he 
reached  Beauvais.  There  the  despair  of  the  citizens 
and  the  bravery  of  the  women  saved  the  town. 
Charles  raised  the  siege  and  marched  on  Rouen, 
hoping  to  meet  the  Duke  of  Brittany  ;  but  that  Prince 
had  his  hands  full,  for  Louis  had  overrun  his  territo- 
ries, and  had  reduced  him  to  terms.  The  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy saw  that  the  coalition  had  completely  failed ; 
he  too  made  fresh  truce  with  Louis  at  Senlis  (1472), 
and  only  deferred,  he  no  doubt  thought,  the  direct 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HOUSE   OF    VALOIS.      269 

attack  on  his  dangerous  rival.  Henceforth  Charles 
the  Bold  turned  his  attention  mainly  to  the  east,  and 
Louis  gladly  saw  him  go  forth  to  spend  his  strength 
on  distant  ventures  ;  saw  the  interview  at  Treves  with 
the  Emperor  Frederick  III.,  at  which  the  Dujve's  plans 
were  foiled  by  the  suspicions  of  the  Germans  and  the 
King's  intrigues ;  saw  the  long  siege  of  the  Neusz  wear- 
ing out  his  power  ;  bought  off  the  hostility  of  Edward 
IV.  of  England,  who  had  undertaken  to  march  on  Paris ; 
saw  Charles  embark  on  his  Swiss  enterprise ;  saw  the 
subjugation  of  Lorraine  and  capture  of  Nancy  (1475), 
the  battle  of  Granson,  the  still  more  fatal  defeat  of 
Morat  (1476),  and  lastly  the  final  struggle  of  Nancy, 
and  the  Duke's  death  on  the  field  (January,  1477). 

While  Duke  Charles  had  thus  been  running  on  his 
fate,  Louis  XI.  had  actively  attacked  the  larger  nobles 
of  France,  and  had  either  reduced  them  to  submission 
or  had  destroyed  them. 

As  Duke  Charles  had  left  no  male  heir,  the  King 
at  once  resumed  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  as  a  male  fief 
of  the  kingdom ;  he  also  took  possession  of  Franche 
Comt^  at  the  same  time  ;  the  King's  armies  recovered 
all  Ficardy,  and  even  entered  Flanders.  Then  Mary  of 
Burgundy,  hoping  to  raise  up  a  barrier  against  this 
dangerous  neighbour,  offered  her  hand,  with  all  her 
great  territories,  to  young  Maximilian  of  Austria,  and 
married  him  within  six  months  after  her  father's  death. 
To  this  wedding  is  due  the  rise  to  real  greatness  of 


270  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  House  of  Austria ;  it  begins  the  era  of  the  larger 
politics  of  modern  times. 

After  a  little  hesitation  Louis  determined  to  con- 
tinue the  struggle  against  the  Burgundian  power. 
He  secured  Franche  Comt^,  and  on  his  northern 
frontier  retook  Arras,  that  troublesome  border  city, 
the  "  bonny  Carlisle "  of  those  days ;  and  advancing 
to  relieve  Therouenne,  then  besieged  by  Maximilian, 
fought  and  lost  the  battle  of  Guinegate  (1479).  The 
war  was  languid  after  this  ;  a  truce  followed  in  1480, 
and  a  time  of  quiet  for  France.  Charles  the  Dauphin 
was  engaged  to  marry  the  little  Margaret,  Maximilian's 
daughter,  and  as  her  dower  she  was  to  bring  Franche 
Comtd  and  sundry  places  on  the  border  line  disputed 
between  the  two  princes.  In  these  last  days  Louis 
XL  shut  himself  up  in  gloomy  seclusion  in  his  castle 
of  Plessis  near  Tours,  and  there  he  died  in  1483.  A 
great  king  and  a  terrible  one,  he  has  left  an  indel- 
lible  mark  on  the  history  of  France,  for  he  was  the 
founder  of  France  in  its  later  form,  as  an  absolute 
monarchy  ruled  with  little  regard  to  its  own  true  wel- 
fare. He  had  crushed  all  resistance ;  he  had  enlarged 
the  borders  of  France,  till  the  kingdom  took  nearly  its 
modern  dimensions ;  he  had  organised  its  army  and 
administration.  The  danger  was  lest  in  the  hands  of 
a  feeble  boy  these  great  results  should  be  squandered 
away,  and  the  old  anarchy  once  more  raise  its  head. 

For  Charles   VHL,  who  now  succeeded,  was  but 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      271 

thirteen  years  old,  a  weak  boy  whom  his  father  had 
entirely  neglected,  the  training  of  his  son  not  appear- 
ing to  be  an  essential  part  of  his  work  in  life.  The 
young  Prince  had  amused  himself  with  romances,  but 
had  learnt  nothing  useful.  A  head,  however,  was 
found  for  him  in  the  person  of  his  eldest  sister  Anne, 
whom  Louis  XI.  had  married  to  Peter  II.,  Lord  of 
Beaujeu  and  Due  de  Bourbon.  To  her  the  dying 
King  entrusted  the  guardianship  of  his  son ;  and  for 
more  than  nine  years  Anne  of  France  was  virtual 
King.     For  those  years  all  went  well. 

With  her  disappearance  from  the  scene,  the  con- 
trolling hand  is  lost,  and  France  begins  the  age  of 
her  Italian  expeditions. 

When  the  House  of  Anjou  came  to  an  end  in  1481, 
and  Anjou  and  Maine  fell  in  to  the  Crown,  there  fell  in 
also  a  far  less  valuable  piece  of  property,  —  the  claim 
of  that  house  descended  from  Charles,  the  youngest 
brother  of  Saint  Louis,  on  the  kingdom  of  Naples  and 
Sicily.  There  was  much  to  tempt  an  ambitious  prince 
in  the  state  of  Italy.  Savoy,  which  held  the  passage 
into  the  peninsula,  was  then  thoroughly  French  in  sym- 
pathy ;  Milan,  under  Lodovico  Sforza,  "  il  Moro,"  was 
in  alliance  with  Charles;  Genoa  preferred  the  French 
to  the  Aragonese  claimants  for  influence  over  Italy ; 
the  popular  feeling  in  the  cities,  especially  in  Florence, 
was  opposed  to  the  despotism  of  the  Medici,  and 
turned  to  France  for  deliverance ;  the  misrule  of  the 


272  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Spanish  Kings  of  Naples  had  made  Naples  thoroughly 
discontented  ;  Venice  was,  as  of  old,  the  friend  of 
France.  Tempted  by  these  reasons,  in  1494  Charles 
VIII.  set  forth  for  Italy  with  a  splendid  host.  He 
displayed  before  the  eyes  of  Europe  the  first  example 
of  a  modern  army,  in  its  three  well-balanced  branches 
of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery.  There  was  nothing 
in  Italy  to  withstand  his  onslaught ;  he  swept  through 
the  land  in  triumph  ;  Charles  believed  himself  to  be  a 
great  conqueror  giving  law  to  admiring  subject-lands  ; 
he  entered  Pisa,  Florence,  Rome  itself.  Wherever  he 
went  his  heedless  ignorance,  and  the  gross  misconduct 
of  his  followers,  left  behind  implacable  hostility,  and 
turned  all  friendship  into  bitterness.  At  last  he  en- 
tered Naples,  and  seemed  to  have  asserted  to  the  full 
the  French  claim  to  be  supreme  in  Italy,  whereas 
at  that  very  time  his  position  had  become  completely 
untenable.  A  league  of  Italian  States  was  formed 
behind  his  back ;  Lodovico  il  Moro,  Ferdinand  of 
Naples,  the  Emperor,  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  who  were  now  welding  Spain  into  a  great 
and  united  monarchy,  all  combined  against  France ; 
and  in  presence  of  this  formidable  confederacy  Charles 
VIII.  had  to  cut  his  way  home  as  promptly  as  he 
could.  At  Fornovo,  north  of  the  Apennines,  he  de- 
feated the  allies  in  July,  1495  ;  and  by  November 
the  main  French  army  had  got  safely  out  of  Italy. 
The  forces  left  behind  in  Naples  were  worn  out  by  war 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      273 

and  pestilence,  and  the  poor  remnant  of  these,  too, 
bringing  with  them  the  seeds  of  horrible  contagious 
diseases,  forced  their  way  back  to  France  in  1496. 
It  was  the  last  effort  of  the  King.  His  health  was 
ruined  by  debauchery  in  Italy,  repeated  in  France  ;  and 
yet,  towards  the  end  of  his  reign,  he  not  merely  intro- 
duced Italian  arts,  but  attempted  to  reform  the  State, 
to  rule  prudently,  to  solace  the  poor ;  wherefore,  when 
he  died  in  1498,  the  people  lamented  him  greatly, 
for  he  had  been  kindly  and  affable,  brave  also  on 
the  battle-field ;  and  much  is  forgiven  to  a  king. 

His  children  died  before  him,  so  that  Louis  d'Or- 
leans,  his  cousin,  was  nearest  heir  to  the  throne, 
and  succeeded  as  Louis  XII.  By  his  accession  in 
1498  he  reunited  the  fief  of  Orleans  County  to  the 
Crown ;  by  marrying  Anne  of  Brittany,  his  predeces- 
sor's widow,  he  secured  also  the  great  duchy  of 
Brittany.  The  dispensation  of  Pope  Alexander  VL, 
which  enabled  him  to  put  away  his  wife  Jeanne, 
second  daughter  of  Louis  XL,  was  brought  into 
France  by  Caesar  Borgia,  who  gained  thereby  his 
title  of  Duke  of  Valentinois,  a  large  sum  of  money, 
a  French  bride,  and  promises  of  support  in  his  great 
schemes  in  Italy. 

His  ministers  were  men  of  real  ability.  Georges 
d'Amboise,  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  the  chief  of  them, 
was  a  prudent  and  a  sagacious  ruler,  who,  however, 
unfortunately  wanted  to  be  Pope,  and  urged  the  King 


274  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

in  the  direction  of  Italian  politics,  which  he  would 
have  done  much  better  to  have  left  alone.  Louis 
XII.  was  lazy  and  of  small  intelligence ;  Georges 
d'Amboise  and  Caesar  Borgia,  with  their  Italian  am- 
bitions, easily  made  him  take  up  a  spirited  forei^ 
policy  which  was  disastrous  at  home. 

Utterly  as  the  last  Italian  expedition  had  failed, 
the  French  people  were  not  yet  weary  of  the  adven- 
ture, and  preparations  for  a  new  war  began  at  once. 
In  1499  the  King  crossed  the  Alps  into  the  Milanese, 
and  carried  all  before  him  for  a  while.  The  duchy  at 
first  accepted  him  with  enthusiasm ;  but  in  1500  it 
had  had  enough  of  the  French  and  recalled  Lodovico, 
who  returned  in  triumph  to  Milan.  The  Swiss  mer- 
cenaries, however,  betrayed  him  at  Novara  into  the 
hands  of  Louis  XII.,  who  carried  him  off  to  France. 
The  triumph  of  the  French  in  1500  was  also  the 
highest  point  of  the  fortunes  of  their  ally,  Caesar 
Borgia,  who  seemed  for  a  while  to  be  completely  suc- 
cessful. In  this  year  Louis  made  a  treaty  at  Granada, 
by  which  he  and  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  agreed  to 
despoil  Frederick  of  Naples ;  and  in  1501  Louis  made 
a  second  expedition  into  Italy.  Again  all  seemed 
easy  at  the  outset,  and  he  seized  the  kingdom  of 
Naples  without  difficulty  ;  falling  out,  however,  with 
his  partner  in  the  bad  bargain,  Ferdinand  the  Catholic, 
he  was  speedily  swept  completely  out  of  the  peninsula, 
with  terrible  loss  of  honour,  men,  and  wealtii. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      275 

It  now  became  necessary  to  arrange  for  the  future 
of  France.  Louis  XII.  had  only  a  daughter,  Claude, 
and  it  was  proposed  that  she  should  be  affianced  to 
Charles  of  Austria,  the  future  statesman  and  emperor. 
This  scheme  formed  the  basis  of  the  three  treaties  of 
Blois  (1504).  In  1500,  by  the  Treaty  of  Granada, 
Louis  had  in  fact  handed  Naples  over  to  Spain  ;  now 
by  the  three  treaties  he  alienated  his  best  friends,  the 
Venetians  and  the  papacy,  while  he  in  fact  also 
handed  Milan  over  to  the  Austrian  House,  together 
with  territories  considered  to  be  integral  parts  of 
France.  The  marriage  with  Charles  came  to  noth- 
ing ;  the  good  sense  of  some,  the  popular  feeling  in 
the  country,  the  open  expressions  of  the  States  General 
of  Tours,  in  1506,  worked  against  the  marriage,  which 
had  no  strong  advocate  except  Queen  Anne.  Claude, 
on  intercession  of  the  Estates,  was  affianced  to 
FrauQois  d'Angouleme,  her  distant  cousin,  the  heir 
presumptive  to  the  throne. 

In  1507  Louis  made  war  on  "Venice  ;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  famous  Treaty  of  Cambrai  was  signed 
by  Georges  d'Amboise  and  Margaret  of  Austria.  It 
was  an  agreement  for  a  partition  of  the  Venetian  ter- 
ritories, —  one  of  the  most  shameless  public  deeds  in 
history.  The  Pope,  the  King  of  Aragon,  Maximilian, 
Louis  XII.,  were  each  to  have  a  share.  The  war  was 
pushed  on  with  great  vigour :  the  battle  of  Agnadello 
(14th  May,  1509)  cleared  the  King's  way  towards 


276  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Venice ;  Louis  was  received  with  open  arms  by  the 
North  Italian  towns,  and  pushed  forward  to  within 
sight  of  Venice.  The  other  Princes  came  up  on 
every  side  ;  the  proud  "  Queen  of  the  Adriatic  "  was 
compelled  to  shrink  within  her  walls,  and  wait  till 
time  dissolved  the  league.  This  was  not  long.  The 
Pope,  Julius  II.,  had  no  wish  to  hand  Northern  Italy 
over  to  France ;  he  had  joined  in  the  shameless  league 
of  Cambrai  because  he  wanted  to  wrest  the  Romagna 
cities  from  Venice,  and  because  he  hoped  to  entirely 
destroy  the  ancient  friendship  between  Venice  and 
France.  Successful  in  both  aims,  he  now  withdrew 
from  the  league,  made  peace  with  the  Venetians,  and 
stood  forward  as  the  head  of  a  new  Italian  combina- 
tion, with  the  Swiss  for  his  fighting  men.  The  strife 
was  close  and  hot  between  Pope  and  King ;  Louis 
XII.  lost  his  chief  adviser  and  friend,  Georges  d'Am- 
boise,  the  splendid  churchman  of  the  age,  the  French 
Wolsey ;  he  thought  no  weapon  better  than  the  dan- 
gerous one  of  a  council,  with  claims  opposed  to  those 
of  the  papacy ;  first  a  National  Council  at  Tours, 
then  an  attempted  General  Council  at  Pisa,  were 
called  on  to  resist  the  papal  claims.  In  reply  Julius 
11.  created  the  Holy  League  of  1511,  with  Ferdinand 
of  Aragon,  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  and  the  Vene- 
tians as  its  chief  members,  against  the  French.  Louis 
XII.  showed  vigour ;  he  sent  his  nephew  Gaston  de 
Foix  to  subdue  the  Romagna  and  threaten  the  Vene- 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      277 

tian  territories.  At  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  in  1512, 
Gaston  won  a  brilliant  victory  and  lost  his  life. 
From  that  moment  disaster  dogged  the  footsteps  of 
the  French  in  Italy,  and  before  winter  they  had 
been  driven  completely  out  of  the  peninsula;  the 
succession  of  the  Medicean  Pope,  Leo  X.,  to  Julias 
II.,  seemed  to  promise  the  continuance  of  a  policy 
hostile  to  France  in  Italy.  Another  attempt  on 
Northern  Italy  proved  but  another  failure,  although 
now  Louis  XII.,  taught  by  his  mishaps,  had  secured 
the  alliance  of  Venice ;  the  disastrous  defeat  of  La 
Tremoille,  near  No  vara  (1513),  compelled  the  French 
once  more  to  withdraw  beyond  the  Alps.  In  this 
same  year  an  army  under  the  Due  de  Longueville, 
endeavouring  to  relieve  Therouenne,  besieged  by  the 
English  and  Maximilian,  the  Emperor-elect,  was  caught 
and  crushed  at  Guinegate.  A  diversion  in  favour  of 
Louis  XII.,  made  by  James  IV.  of  Scotland,  failed  com- 
pletely ;  the  Scottish  King  was  defeated  and  slain  at 
Flodden  Field.  While  his  northern  frontier  was  thiis 
exposed,  Louis  found  equal  danger  threatening  him 
on  the  east;  on  this  side,  however,  he  managed  to 
buy  off  the  Swiss,  who  had  attacked  the  duchy  of 
Burgundy.  He  was  also  reconciled  with  the  papacy 
and  the  House  of  Austria.  Early  in  1514  the  death 
of  Anne  of  Brittany,  his  spouse,  a  lady  of  high  am- 
bitions, strong  artistic  tastes,  and  humane  feelings 
towards  her  Bretons,  but  a  bad  Queen  for  France, 


278  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

cleared  the  way  for  changes.  Claude,  the  King's 
eldest  daughter,  was  now  definitely  married  to  Fran- 
cois d'Angouleme,  and  invested  with  the  duchy  of 
Brittany ;  and  the  King  himself,  still  hoping  for  a 
male  heir  to  succeed  him,  married  again,  wedding 
Mary  Tudor,  the  lovely  young  sister  of  Henry  VIII. 
This  marriage  was  probably  the  chief  cause  of  his 
death,  which  followed  on  New  Year's  day,  1515.  His 
was,  in  foreign  policy,  an  inglorious  and  disastrous 
reign ;  at  home,  a  time  of  comfort  and  material  pros- 
perity. Agriculture  flourished,  the  arts  of  Italy  came 
in,  though  (save  in  architecture)  France  could  claim 
little  artistic  glory  of  her  own ;  the  organisation  of 
justice  and  administration  was  carried  out ;  in  letters 
and  learning  France  still  lagged  behind  her  neighbours. 
The  heir  to  the  crown  was  Francois  d'Angouleme, 
great-grandson  of  that  Louis  d'Orl^ans  who  had 
been  assassinated  in  the  bad  days  of  the  strife  between 
Burgundians  and  Armagnacs,  in  1407,  and  great- 
great-grandson  of  Charles  Y.  of  France.  He  was 
still  very  young,  very  eager  to  be  king,  very  full  of 
far-reaching  schemes.  Few  things  in  history  are 
more  striking  than  the  sudden  change,  at  this  moment, 
from  the  rule  of  middle-aged  men  or  (as  men  of  fifty 
were  then  often  called)  old  men,  to  the  rule  of 
youths,  —  from  sagacious,  worldly-prudent  monarchs 
to  impulsive  boys,  —  from  Henry  YII.  to  Henry  YIIL, 
from  Louis  XII.  to  Frangois  I.,  from  Ferdinand  to 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.     279 

Charles.  On  the  whole,  Francois  I.  was  the  least 
worthy  of  the  three.  He  was  brilliant,  "  the  king  of 
culture,"  apt  scholar  in  Renaissance  art  and  immoral- 
ity ;  brave,  also,  and  chivalrous,  so  long  as  the  chivalry 
involved  no  self-denial,  for  he  was  also  thoroughly 
selfish,  and  his  personal  aims  and  ideas  were  mean. 
His  reign  was  to  be  a  reaction  from  that  of  Louis 

xn. 

From  the  beginning,  Francois  chose  his  chief  officers 
unwisely.  In  Antoine  du  Prat,  his  new  chancellor, 
he  had  a  violent  and  lawless  adviser ;  in  Charles  de 
Bourbon,  his  new  constable,  an  untrustworthy  com- 
mander. Forthwith  he  plunged  into  Italian  politics, 
being  determined  to  make  good  his  claim  both  to 
Naples  and  to  Milan  ;  he  made  most  friendly  arrange- 
ments with  the  Archduke  Charles,  his  future  rival, 
promising  to  help  him  in  securing,  when  the  time 
came,  the  vast  inheritances  of  his  two  grandfathers, 
Maximilian,  the  Emperor-elect,  and  Ferdinand  of  Ara- 
gon ;  never  was  a  less  wise  agreement  entered  upon. 
This  done,  the  Italian  war  began ;  Frangois  descended 
into  Italy,  and  won  the  brilliant  battle  of  Marignano, 
in  which  the  French  chivalry  crushed  the  Swiss 
burghers  and  peasant  mercenaries.  The  French  then 
overran  the  north  of  Italy,  and,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Venetians,  carried  all  before  them.  But  the 
triumphs  of  the  sword  were  speedily  wrested  from 
him  by  the  adroitness  of  the  politician ;  in  an  inter- 


280  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

view  with  Leo  X.  at  Bologna,  Francois  bartered  tlie 
liberties  of  the  Gallican  Church  for  shadowy  advan- 
tages in  Italy.  The  Pragmatic  Sanction  of  Bourges, 
which  now  for  nearly  a  century  had  secured  to  the 
Church  of  France  independence  in  the  choice  of  her 
chief  officers,  was  replaced  by  a  concordat,  whereby 
the  King  allowed  the  papacy  once  more  to  drain  the 
wealth  of  the  Church  of  France,  while  the  Pope 
allowed  the  King  almost  autocratic  power  over  it. 
He  was  to  appoint  to  all  benefices,  with  exception  of 
a  few  privileged  offices ;  the  Pope  was  no  longer  to 
be  threatened  with  general  councils,  while  he  should 
receive  again  the  annates  of  the  Church. 

The  years  which  followed  this  brilliantly  disastrous 
opening  brought  little  good  to  France.  In  1516  the 
death  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  placed  Charles  on 
the  throne  of  Spain;  in  1519  the  death  of  Maximilian 
threw  open  to  the  young  Princes  the  most  dazzling 
prize  of  human  ambition,  —  the  headship  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire.  Fran9ois  I.,  Charles,  and  Hepry  YIII. 
were  all  candidates  for  the  votes  of  the  seven  electors, 
though  the  last  never  seriously  entered  the  lists.  The 
struggle  lay  between  Fran9ois,  the  brilliant  young 
Prince,  who  seemed  to  represent  the  new  opinions  in 
literature  and  art,  and  Charles  of  Austria  and  Spain, 
who  was  as  yet  unknown  and  despised,  and,  from  his 
education  under  the  virtuous  and  scholastic  Adrian  of 
Utrecht,  was  thought  likely  to  represent  the  older 


HISTORY  OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      281 

and  reactionary  opinions  of  the  clergy.  After  a  long 
and  sharp  competition,  the  great  prize  fell  to  Charles, 
henceforth  known  to  history  as  that  great  monarch 
and  emperor,  Charles  Y. 

The  rivalry  between  the  Princes  could  not  cease 
there.  Charles,  as  representative  of  the  House  of 
Burgundy,  claimed  all  that  had  been  lost  when 
Charles  the  Bold  fell ;  and  in  1521  the  war  broke 
out  between  him  and  Fran9ois,  the  first  of  a  series  of 
struggles  between  the  two  rivals.  While  the  King 
wasted  the  resources  of  his  country  on  these  wars,  his 
proud  and  unwise  mother,  Louise  of  Savoy,  guided  by 
Antoine  du  Prat,  ruled,  to  the  sorrow  of  all,  at  home. 
The  war  brought  no  glory  with  it:  on  the  Flemish 
frontier  a  place  or  two  was  taken  ;  in  Biscay  Fonta- 
rabia  fell  before  the  arms  of  France ;  in  Italy  Frangois 
had  to  meet  a  new  league  of  Pope  and  Emperor,  and 
his  troops  were  swept  completely  out  of  the  Milanese. 
In  the  midst  of  all  came  the  defection  of  that  great 
prince,  the  Conn^table  de  Bourbon,  head  of  the  younger 
branch  of  the  Bourbon  House,  the  most  powerful  feudal 
lord  in  France.  Louise  of  Savoy  had  enraged  and  of- 
fended him,  or  he  her ;  the  King  slighted  him,  and  in 
1523  the  Constable  made  a  secret  treaty  with  Charles 
V.  and  Henry  VIII. ,  and,  taking  flight  into  Italy, 
joined  the  Spaniards  under  Lannoy.  The  French,  who 
had  again  invaded  the  Milanese,  were  again  driven  out 
in  1524 ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  incursions  of  the  im- 


282  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

perialists  into  Picardy,  Provence,  and  the  southeast 
were  all  complete  failures.  Encouraged  by  the  repulse 
of  Bourbon  from  Marseilles,  Fran9ois  I.  once  more 
crossed  the  Alps,  and  overran  a  great  part  of  the  val- 
ley of  the  Po ;  at  the  siege  of  Pavia  he  was  attacked 
by  Pescara  and  Bourbon,  utterly  defeated  and  taken 
prisoner  (24th  February,  1525)  ;  the  broken  remnants 
of  the  French  were  swept  out  of  Italy  at  once,  and 
Francois  I.  was  carried  into  Spain,  a  captive  at  Madrid. 
His  mother,  best  in  adversity,  behaved  with  high  pride 
and  spirit ;  she  overawed  disaffection,  made  prepara- 
tions for  resistance,  looked  out  for  friends  on  every 
side.  Had  Frangois  been  in  truth  a  hero,  he  might, 
even  as  a  prisoner,  have  held  his  own ;  but  he  was  un- 
able to  bear  the  monotony  of  confinement,  and  longed 
for  the  pleasures  of  France.  On  this  mean  nature 
Charles  V.  easily  worked,  and  made  the  captive  mon- 
arch sign  the  Treaty  of  Madrid  (January  14,  1526), 
a  compact  which  Frangois  meant  to  break  as  soon  as 
he  could,  for  he  knew  neither  heroism  nor  good  faith. 
The  treaty  stipulated  that  Frangois  should  give  up  the 
duchy  of  Burgmidy  to  Charles,  and  marry  Eleanor  of 
Portugal,  Charles's  sister;  that  Francois  should  also 
abandon  his  claims  on  Flanders,  Milan,  and  Naples,  and 
should  place  two  sons  in  the  Emperor's  hands  as  hos- 
tages. Following  the  precedent  of  Louis  XI.  in  the 
case  of  Normandy,  he  summoned  an  assembly  of  no- 
bles and  the  Parliament  of  Paris  to  Cognac,  where 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE    OF    VALOIS.      288 

thej  declared  the  cession  of  Burgundy  to  be  impossi- 
ble. He  refused  to  return  to  Spain,  and  made  alli- 
ances wherever  he  could,  with  the  Pope,  with  Venice, 
Milan,  and  England.  The  next  year  saw  the  ruin  of 
this  league  in  the  discomfiture  of  Clement  VII.,  and 
the  sack  of  Rome  by  the  German  mercenaries  under 
Bourbon,  who  was  killed  in  the  assault.  The  war 
went  on  till  1529,  when  Frangois,  having  lost  two 
armies  in  it,  and  gained  nothing  but  loss  and  harm, 
was  willing  for  peace ;  Charles  V.,  alarmed  at  the 
progress  of  the  Turks,  was  not  less  willing ;  and  in  Au- 
gust, 1529,  the  famous  Treaty  of  Cambrai,  "-the  Ladies' 
Peace,"  was  agreed  to  by  Margaret  of  Austria  and 
Louise  of  Savoy.  Though  Charles  V.  gave  up  all 
claim  on  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  he  had  secured  to 
himself  Flanders  and  Artois,  and  had  entirely  cleared 
French  influences  out  of  Italy,  which  now  became 
firmly  fixed  under  the  imperial  hand,  as  a  connecting 
link  between  his  Spanish  and  German  possessions. 
Frangois  lost  ground  and  credit  by  these  successive 
treaties,  conceived  in  bad  faith,  and  not  honestly  car- 
ried out. 

No  sooner  had  the  Treaty  of  Cambrai  been  effectual 
in  bringing  his  sons  back  to  France,  than  Frangois 
began  to  look  out  for  new  pretexts  and  means  for  war. 
Affairs  were  not  unpromising.  His  mother's  death 
in  1531  left  him  in  possession  of  a  huge  fortune,  which 
she  had  wrung  from  defenceless  France ;  the  powers 


284  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

which  were  jealous  of  Austria,  the  Turk,  the  EnglisTi 
King,  the  members  of  the  Smalkald  league,  all  looked 
to  Frangois  as  their  leader ;  Clement  VII.,  though  hi& 
misfortunes  had  thrown  him  into  the  Emperor's  hands, 
was  not  unwilling  to  treat  with  France  ;  and  in  1533 
by  the  compact  of  Marseilles  the  Pope  broke  up  the 
friendship  between  Frangois  and  Henry  YIII.,  while 
he  married  his  niece  Catherine  de'  Medici  to  Henri, 
the  second  son  of  Frangois.  This  compact  was  a  real 
disaster  to  France  ;  the  promised  dowry  of  Catherine 
—  certain  Italian  cities  —  was  never  paid,  and  the 
death  of  Clement  YII.  in  1584  made  the  political  alli- 
ance with  the  papacy  a  failure.  The  influence  of 
Catherine  affected  and  corrupted  French  history  for 
half  a  century.  Preparations  for  war  went  on ;  Fran- 
9ois  made  a  new  scheme  for  a  national  army,  though 
in  practice  he  preferred  the  tyrant's  arm,  the  foreign 
mercenary.  From  his  day  till  the  Revolution  the 
French  army  was  largely  composed  of  bodies  of  men 
tempted  out  of  other  countries,  chiefly  from  Switzer- 
land or  Germany. 

While  the  Emperor  strove  to  appease  the  Protestant 
Princes  of  Germany  by  the  Peace  of  Kadan  (1534), 
Frangois  strengthened  himself  with  a  definite  alliance 
with  Soliman ;  and  when,  on  the  death  of  Francesco 
Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  who  left  no  heirs,  Charles 
seized  the  duchy  as  its  overlord,  Fran9ois,  after  some 
bootless  negotiation,  declared  war  on  his  great  rival 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE    OP   VALOIS.     285 

(1536).  His  usual  fortunes  prevailed  so  long  as  he 
was  the  attacking  party :  his  forces  were  soon  swept 
out  of  Piedmont,  and  the  Emperor  carried  the  war 
over  the  frontier  into  Provence.  That  also  failed, 
and  Charles  was  fain  to  withdraw  after  great  losses 
into  Italy,  The  defence  of  Provence  —  a  defence 
which  took  the  form  of  a  ruthless  destruction  of  all 
its  resources  —  had  been  entrusted  to  Anne  de  Mont- 
morency, who  henceforward  became  Constable  of 
France,  and  exerted  great  influence  over  Fran9ois  I. 
Though  these  two  campaigns,  the  French  in  Italy  and 
the  imperialist  in  Provence,  had  equally  failed  in 
1536,  peace  did  not  follow  till  1538,  when,  after  the 
terrible  defeat  of  Ferdinand  of  Austria  by  the  Turks, 
Charles  was  anxious  to  have  free  hand  in  Germany. 
Under  the  mediation  of  Paul  III.  the  agreement  of 
Nice  was  come  to,  which  included  a  ten  years'  truce 
and  the  abandonment  by  Francois  of  all  his  foreign 
allies  and  aims.  He  seemed  a  while  to  have  fallen 
completely  under  the  influence  of  the  sagacious  Em- 
peror. He  gave  way  entirely  to  the  Church  party 
of  the  time,  a  party  headed  by  gloomy  Henri,  now 
Dauphin,  who  never  lost  the  impress  of  his  Spanish  cap- 
tivity, and  by  the  Conn  stable  Anne  de  Montmorency ; 
for  a  time  the  artistic  or  Renaissance  party,  repre- 
sented by  Anne,  Duchesse  d'Etampes,  and  Catherine 
de'  Medici,  fell  into  disfavour.  The  Emperor  even 
ventured  to  pass  through  France,  on  his  way  from 


286  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Spain  to  the  Netherlands.  All  this  friendship,  how- 
ever, fell  to  dust,  when  it  was  found  that  Charles 
refused  to  invest  the  Due  d'Orleans,  the  second  son 
of  Frangois,  with  the  duchy  of  Milan,  and  when  the 
Emperor's  second  expedition  against  the  sea-power 
of  the  Turks  had  proved  a  complete  failure,  and 
Charles  had  returned  to  Spain  with  loss  of  all  his 
fleet  and  army.  Then  Frangois  hesitated  no  longer, 
and  declared  war  against  him  (1541),  The  shock 
the  Emperor  had  suffered  inspirited  all  his  foes ;  the 
Sultan  and  the  Protestant  German  Princes  were  all 
eager  for  war  ;  the  influence  of  Anne  de  Montmorency 
had  to  give  way  before  that  of  the  House  of  Guise, 
that  frontier  family,  half  French,  half  German,  which 
was  destined  to  play  a  large  part  in  the  troubled 
history  of  the  coming  half-century.  Claude,  Due 
de  Guise,  a  veteran  of  the  earliest  days  of  Frangois, 
was  vehemently  opposed  to  Charles  and  the  Austro- 
Spanish  power,  and  ruled  in  the  King's  councils. 
This  last  war  was  as  mischievous  as  its  predecessors : 
no  great  battles  were  fought ;  in  the  frontier  affairs 
the  combatants  were  about  equally  fortunate ;  the 
battle  of  CerisoUes,  won  by  the  French  under  Enghien 
(1544),  was  the  only  considerable  success  they  had, 
and  even  that  was  almost  barren  of  results,  for  the 
danger  to  Northern  France  was  imminent ;  there  a 
combined  invasion  had  been  planned  and  partly  exe- 
cuted by  Charles  and  Henry  VHI.,  and  the  country, 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     287 

almost  undefended,  was  at  their  mercy.  The  two 
monarchs,  however,  distrusted  one  another;  and 
Charles  Y.,  anxious  about  Germany,  sent  to  Frangois 
proposals  for  peace  from  Crespy  Couvrant,  near  Laon, 
where  he  had  halted  his  army ;  Fran9ois,  almost  in 
despair,  gladly  made  terms  with  him.  The  King 
gave  up  his  claims  on  Flanders  and  Artois,  the 
Emperor  his  on  the  duchy  of  Burgundy ;  the  King 
abandoned  his  old  Neapolitan  ambition,  and  Charles 
promised  one  of  the  Princesses  of  the  House  of  Aus- 
tria, with  Milan  as  her  dower,  to  the  Due  d' Orleans, 
second  son  of  Francois.  The  Duke  dying  next  year, 
this  portion  of  the  agreement  was  not  carried  out. 
The  Peace  of  Crespy,  which  ended  the  wars  between 
the  two  great  rivals,  was  signed  in  autumn,  1544, 
and,  like  the  wars  which  led  to  it,  was  indecisive  and 
lame. 

Charles  learnt  that  with  all  his  great  power  he 
could  not  strike  a  fatal  blow  at  France  ;  France  ought 
to  have  learnt  that  she  was  very  weak  for  foreign 
conquest,  and  that  her  true  business  was  to  consoli- 
date and  develop  her  power  at  home.  Henry  VHl. 
deemed  himself  wronged  by  this  independent  action 
on  the  part  of  Charles,  who  also  had  his  gi'ievance& 
with  the  English  monarch ;  he  stood  out  till  1546, 
and  then  made  peace  with  Francois,  with  the  aim  of 
forming  a  fresh  combination  against  Charles.  In  the 
midst  of  new  projects  and  much  activity,  the  marrer 


288  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

of  man's  plots  came  on  the  scene,  and  carried  off  in 
the  same  year,  1547,  the  English  King  and  Frangois 
I.,  leaving  Charles  Y.  undisputed  arbiter  of  the  affairs 
of  Europe.  In  this  same  year  he  also  crushed  the 
Protestant  Princes  at  the  battle  of  Miihlberg. 

In  the  reign  of  Francois  I.  the  Court  looked  not 
unkindly  on  the  Reformers,  more  particularly  in  the 
earlier  years. 

Henri  II.,  who  succeeded  in  1547,  "  had  all  the 
faults  of  his  father,  with  a  weaker  mind;"  and  as 
strength  of  mind  was  not  one  of  the  characteristics 
of  Frangois  I.,  we  may  imagine  how  little  firmness 
there  was  in  the  gloomy  King  who  now  reigned. 
Party  spirit  ruled  at  Court.  Henri  II.,  with  his  an- 
cient mistress,  Diane  de  Poitiers,  were  at  the  head  of 
one  party,  that  of  the  strict  Catholics,  and  were  sup- 
ported by  old  Anne  de  Montmorency,  most  unlucky 
of  soldiers,  most  fanatical  of  Catholics,  and  by  the 
Guises,  who  chafed  a  good  deal  under  the  stern  rule 
of  the  Constable.  This  party  had  almost  extinguished 
its  antagonists ;  in  the  struggle  of  the  mistresses,  the 
pious  and  learned  Anne  d'Etampes  had  to  give  place 
to  imperious  Diane.  Catherine,  the  Queen,  was  con- 
tent to  bide  her  time,  watching  with  Italian  coolness 
the  game  as  it  went  on ;  of  no  account  beside  her 
rival,  and  yet  quite  sure  to  have  her  day,  and  ready 
to  play  parties  against  one  another.  Meanwhile,  she 
brought  to  her   royal    husband  ten  sickly  children, 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      289 

most  of  whom  died  young,  and  three  wore  the  crown. 
Of  the  many  bad  things  she  did  for  France,  that  was 
perhaps  among  the  worst. 

On  the  accession  of  Henri  II.  the  duchy  of  Brit- 
tany finally  lost  even  nominal  independence  ;  he  next 
got  the  hand  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  then  but  five 
years  old,  for  the  Dauphin  Francois  ;  she  was  carried 
over  to  France;  and  being  by  birth  half  a  Guise,  by 
education  and  interests  of  her  married  life  she  became 
entirely  French.  It  was  a  great  triumph  for  Henri, 
for  the  Protector  Somerset  had  laid  his  plans  to  se- 
cure her  for  young  Edward  YI. ;  it  was  even  more  a 
triumph  for  the  Guises,  who  saw  opened  out  a  broad 
and  clear  field  for  their  ambition. 

At  first  Henri  11.  showed  no  desire  for  war,  and 
seemed  to  shrink  from  rivalry  or  collision  with  Charles 
V.  He  would  not  listen  to  Paul  III. ,  who,  in  his  anx- 
iety after  the  fall  of  the  Protestant  power  in  Germany 
in  15-47,  urged  him  to  resist  the  Emperor's  trium- 
phant advance ;  he  seemed  to  show  a  dread  of  war, 
even  among  his  neighbours.  -After  he  had  won  his  ad- 
vantage over  Edward  VI.,  he  escaped  the  war  which 
seemed  almost  inevitable,  recovered  Boulogne  from 
the  English  by  a  money  payment,  and  smoothed 
the  way  for  peace  between  England  and  Scotland. 
He  took  much  interest  in  the  religious  question, 
and  treated  the  Calvinists  with  great  severity;  he 
was    also    occupied    by    troubles    in    the    south    and 


290  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

west  of  France.  Meanwhile,  a  new  Pope,  Julius 
III.,  was  the  weak  dependent  of  the  Emperor,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  no  head  left  for  any  movement 
against  the  universal  domination  of  Charles  Y.  His 
career  from  1547  to  1552  was,  to  all  appearance,  a  tri- 
umphal march  of  unbroken  success.  Yet  Germany  was 
far  from  acquiescence ;  the  Princes  were  still  discon- 
tented and  watchful ;  even  Ferdinand  of  Austria, 
his  brother,  was  offended  by  the  Emperor's  anx- 
iety to  secure  everything,  even  the  imperial  crown 
for  his  son  Philip ;  Maurice  of  Saxony,  that  great 
problem  of  the  age,  was  preparing  for  a  second 
treachery,  or,  it  may  be,  for  a  patriotic  effort. 
These  German  malcontents  now  appealed  to  Henri 
for  aid;  and  at  last  Henri  seemed  inclined  to  come. 
He  had  lately  made  alliance  with  England,  and  in, 
1552  formed  a  league  at  Chambord  with  the  Ger- 
man Princes ;  the  old  connection  with  the  Turk 
was  also  talked  of.  The  Germans  agreed  to  allow 
him  to  hold  (as  imperial  vicar,  not  as  King  of 
France)  the  "  three  bishoprics,"  Metz,  Verdun,  and 
Toul ;  he  also  assumed  a  protectorate  over  the  spirit- 
ual princes,  those  great  bishops  and  electors  of  the 
Rhine,  whose  stake  in  the  Empire  was  so  important. 
The  general  lines  of  French  foreign  politics  are  all 
here  clearly  marked ;  in  this  Henri  II.  is  the  fore- 
runner of  Henri  IV.  and  of  Louis  XIV.;  the  imperial 
politics  of  Napoleon  start  from  much  the  same  lines; 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      291 

the  proclamations  of  Napoleon  III.  before  the  Franco- 
German  war  seemed  like  thin  echoes  of  the  same. 

Early  in  1552  Maurice  of  Saxony  struck  his  great 
blow  at  his  master  in  the  Tyrol,  destroying  in  an  in- 
stant all  the  Emperor's  plans  for  the  suppression  of 
Lutheran  opinions,  and  the  reunion  of  Germany  in 
a  Catholic  empire ;  and  while  Charles  V.  fled  for  his 
life,  Henri  II.  with  a  splendid  army  crossed  the  fron- 
tiers of  Lorraine.  Anne  de  Montmorency,  whose  op- 
position to  the  war  had  been  overborne  by  the  Guises, 
who  warmly  desired  to  see  a  French  predominance 
in  Lorraine,  was  sent  forward  to  reduce  Metz,  and 
quickly  got  that  important  city  into  his  hands ;  Toul 
and  Verdun  soon  opened  their  gates,  and  were  se- 
cured in  reality,  if  not  in  name,  to  France.  Eager 
to  undertake  a  protectorate  of  the  Rhine,  Henri  II. 
tried  also  to  lay  hands  on  Strasburg;  the  citizens, 
however,  resisted,  and  he  had  to  withdraw ;  the  same 
fate  befell  his  troops  in  an  attempt  on  Spires.  Still, 
Metz  and  the  line  of  the  Vosges  mountains  formed  a 
splendid  acquisition  for  FrancCo  The  French  army, 
leaving  strong  garrisons  in  Lorraine,  withdrew  through 
Luxemburg  and  the  northern  frontier ;  its  remaining 
exploits  were  few  and  mean,  for  the  one  gleam  of  good 
fortune  enjoyed  by  Anne  de  Montmorency,  who  was 
unwise  and  arrogant,  and  a  most  inefficient  commander, 
soon  deserted  him.  Charles  Y.,  as  soon  as  he  could 
gather  forces,  laid  siege  to  Metz,  but,  after  nearly 


292  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

three  months  of  late  autumnal  operations,  was  fain 
to  break  up  and  withdraw,  baffled  and  with  loss  of 
half  his  army,  across  the  Rhine.  Though  some  suc- 
cess attended  his  arms  on  the  northern  frontier,  it 
was  of  no  permanent  value ;  the  loss  of  Metz,  and  the 
failure  in  the  attempt  to  take  it,  proved  to  the  worn- 
out  Emperor  that  the  day  of  his  power  and  oppor- 
tunity was  past.  The  conclusions  of  the  Diet  of 
Augsburg  in  1555  settled  for  half  a  century  the 
struggle  between  Lutheran  and  Catholic,  but  settled 
it  in  a  way  not  at  all  to  his  mind  ;  for  it  was  the  safe- 
guard of  princely  interests  against  his  plans  for  an 
imperial  unity.  Weary  of  the  losing  strife,  yearning 
for  ease,  ordered  by  his  physicians  to  withdraw  from 
active  life,  Charles  in  the  course  of  1555  and  1556  re- 
signed all  his  great  lordships  and  titles,  leaving  Philip 
his  son  to  succeed  him  in  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  and 
Spain,  and  his  brother  Ferdinand  of  Austria  to  wear 
in  his  stead  the  imperial  diadem.  These  great  changes 
sundered  awhile  the  interests  of  Austria  from  those 
of  Spain. 

Henri  endeavoured  to  take  advantage  of  the  check 
in  the  fortunes  of  his  antagonists  ;  he  sent  Anne  de 
Montmorency  to  support  Gaspard  de  Coligny,  the 
Admiral  of  France,  in  Picardy,  and  in  harmony  with 
Paul  lY.,  instructed  Francois,  Due  de  Guise,  to  enter 
Italy  to  oppose  the  Duke  of  Alva.  As  of  old,  the 
French  arms  at  first  carried    all   before   them,   and 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      293 

Guise,  deeming  himself  heir  to  the  crown  of  Naples 
(for  he  was  the  eldest  great-grandson  of  Rene  II., 
titular  King  of  Naples),  pushed  eagerly  forward  as  far 
as  the  Abruzzi.  There  he  was  met  and  outgeneraled 
by  Alva,  who  drove  him  back  to  Rome,  whence  he 
was  now  recalled  by  urgent  summons  to  France ;  for 
the  great  disaster  of  St.  Quentin  had  laid  Paris  itself 
open  to  the  assault  of  an  enterprising  enemy.  With 
the  departure  of  Guise  from  Italy  the  age  of  the 
Italian  expeditions  comes  to  an  end.  On  the  northern 
side  of  the  realm  things  had  gone  just  as  badly. 
Philibert  of  Savoy,  commanding  for  Philip  with  Span- 
ish and  English  troops,  marched  into  France  as  far  as 
to  the  Somme,  and  laid  siege  to  St.  Quentin,  which  was 
bravely  defended  by  Amiral  de  Coligny.  Anne  de 
Montmorency,  coming  up  to  relieve  the  place,  man- 
aged his  movements  so  clumsily  that  he  was  caught 
by  Count  Egmont  and  the  Flemish  horse,  and,  with 
incredibly  small  loss  to  the  conquerors,  was  utterly 
routed  (1557).  Montmorency  himself  and  a  crowd 
of  nobles  and  soldiers  were  taken ;  the  slaughter  was 
great.  Coligny  made  a  gallant  and  tenacious  stand 
in  the  town  itself,  but  at  last  was  overwhelmed, 
and  the  place  fell.  Terrible  as  these  mishaps  were  to 
France,  Philip  II.  was  not  of  a  temper  to  push  an 
advantage  vigorously ;  and  while  his  army  lingered, 
Francois  de  Guise  came  swiftly  back  from  Italy ;  and 
instead  of  wasting  strength  in  a  doubtful  attack  on 


294  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

» 

the  allies  in  Picardy,  by  a  sudden  stroke  of  genius  he 
assaulted  and  took  Calais  (January,  1558),  and  swept 
the  English  finally  off  the  soil  of  France.  This  un- 
expected and  brilliant  blow  cheered  and  solaced  the 
afflicted  country,  while  it  finally  secured  the  ascend- 
ency of  the  House  of  Guise.  The  Duke's  brother, 
the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine,  carried  all  before  him  in  the 
King's  councils ;  the  Dauphin,  betrothed  long  before, 
was  now  married  to  Mary  of  Scots ;  a  secret  treaty 
bound  the  young  Queen  to  bring  her  kingdom  over 
with  her  ;  it  was  thought  that  France  with  Scotland 
would  be  at  least  a  match  for  England  joined  with 
Spain.  In  the  same  year,  1558,  the  French  advance 
along  the  coast,  after  they  had  taken  Dunkirk  and 
Nieuport,  was  finally  checked  by  the  brilliant  genius 
of  Count  Egmont,  who  defeated  them  at  Gravelines. 
All  now  began  to  wish  for  peace,  especially  Mont- 
morency, weary  of  being  a  prisoner,  and  anxious  to 
get  back  to  Court,  that  he  might  check  the  fortunes  of 
the  Guises  ;  Philip  desired  it  that  he  might  have  free 
hand  against  heresy.  And  so,  at  Cateau-Cambr^sis,  a 
peace  was  made  in  April,  1559,  by  which  France  re- 
tained the  three  bishoprics  and  Calais,  surrendering 
Thionville,  Montmddy,  and  one  or  two  other  frontier 
towns,  while  she  recovered  Ham  and  St.  Quentin ; 
the  House  of  Savoy  was  reinstated  by  Philip,  as  a  re- 
ward to  Philibert  for  his  services,  and  formed  a  solid 
barrier  for  a  time  between  France  and  Italy;  cross 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      295 

marriages  between  Spain,  France,  and  Savoy  were 
arranged ;  and  finally,  the  treaty  contained  secret 
articles  by  which  the  Guises  for  France  and  Granvella 
for  the  Netherlands  agreed  to  crush  heresy  with  a 
strong  hand.  As  a  sequel  to  this  peace,  Henri  II. 
held  a  great  tournament  at  Paris,  at  which  he  was 
accidentally  slain  by  a  Scottish  knight  in  the  lists. 

The  Guises  now  shot  up  into  unbounded  power. 
On  the  Guise  side  the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine  was 
the  cleverest  man,  the  true  head,  while  Frangois,  the 
Duke,  was  the  arm ;  he  showed  leanings  towards 
the  Lutherans.  On  the  other  side,  the  head  was  the 
dull  and  obstinate  Anne  de  Montmorency,  the  Con- 
stable, an  unwavering  Catholic,  supported  by  the 
three  Coligny  brothers,  who  all  were  or  became  Hu- 
guenots. The  Queen-mother  Catherine  fluctuated 
uneasily  between  the  parties,  and  though  Catholic 
herself,  or  rather  not  a  Protestant,  did  not  hesitate 
to  befriend  the  Huguenots,  if  the  political  arena 
seemed  to  need  their  gallant  swords.  Their  noblest 
leader  was  Coligny,  the  admiral ;  their  recognised 
head  was  Antoine,  King  of  Navarre,  a  man  as  foolish 
as  feerless.  He  was  heir  presumptive  to  the  throne 
after  the  Valois  boys,  and  claimed  to  have  charge  of 
the  young  King.  Though  the  Guises  had  the  lead  at 
first,  the  Huguenots  seemed,  from  their  strong  aris- 
tocratic connections,  to  have  the  fairer  prospects  be- 
fore them. 


296  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Thirty  years  of  desolate  civil  strife  are  before  us, 
and  we  must  set  it  all  down  briefly  and  drily.  The 
prelude  to  the  troubles  was  played  by  the  Huguenots, 
who  in  1560,  guided  by  La  Renaudie,  a  Perigord 
gentleman,  formed  a  plot  to  carry  off  the  young  King ; 
for  Fran9ois  II.  had  already  treated  them  with  con- 
siderable severity,  and  had  dismissed  from  his  councils 
both  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal  and  the  Conn^- 
table  de  Montmorency.  The  plot  failed  miserably 
and  La  Renaudie  lost  his  life ;  it  only  secured  more 
firmly  the  authority  of  the  Guises.  As  a  counter- 
poise to  their  influence,  the  Queen-mother  now  con- 
ferred the  vacant  chancellorship  on  one  of  the  wisest 
men  France  has  ever  seen,  her  Lord  Bacon,  Michel  de 
L'HSpital,  a  man  of  the  utmost  prudence  and  moder- 
ation, who,  had  the  times  been  better,  might  have 
won  constitutional  liberties  for  his  country,  and  ap- 
peased her  civil  strife.  As  it  was,  he  saved  her  from 
the  Inquisition ;  his  hand  drew  the  edicts  which 
aimed  at  enforcing  toleration  on  France ;  he  guided 
the  assembly  of  notables  which  gathered  at  Fontaine- 
bleau,  and  induced  them  to  attempt  a  compromise 
which  moderate  Catholics  and  Calvinists  might  ac- 
cept, and  which  might  lessen  the  power  of  the  Guises. 
This  assembly  was  followed  by  a  meeting  of  the 
States  General  at  Orleans,  at  which  the  Prince  de 
Cond^  and  the  King  of  Navarre  were  seized  by  the 
Guises  on  a  charge  of  having  had  to  do  with  La  Re- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HOUSE    OF   VALOIS.      297 

naudie's  plot.  It  would  have  gone  hard  with  them 
had  not  the  sickly  King  at  this  very  time  fallen  ill 
and  died  (1560). 

This  was  a  grievous  blow  to  the  Guises.  Now,  as  in 
a  moment,  all  was  shattered ;  Catherine  de'  Medici  rose 
at  once  to  the  command  of  affairs ;  the  new  King, 
Charles  IX.,  was  only  ten  years  old,  and  her  position 
as  Regent  was  assured.  The  Guises  would  gladly 
have  ruled  with  her,  but  she  had  no  fancy  for  that ; 
she  and  Chancellor  de  L'HQpital  were  not  likely  to  ally 
themselves  with  all  that  was  severe  and  repressive. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  best  part  of  her 
policy  was  inspired  by  the  Chancellor  de  L'HSpital. 

Now  it  was  that  Mary  Stuart,  the  Queen-dowager, 
was  compelled  to  leave  France  for  Scotland ;  her  de- 
parture clearly  marks  the  fall  of  the  Guises ;  and  it 
also  showed  Philip  of  Spain  that  it  was  no  longer 
necessary  for  him  to  refuse  aid  and  counsel  to  the 
Guises ;  their  claims  were  no  longer  formidable  to 
him  on  the  larger  sphere  of  European  politics ;  no 
longer  could  Mary  Stuart  dream  of  wearing  the 
triple  crown  of  Scotland,  France,  and  England. 

The  tolerant  language  of  L'HSpital  at  the  States 
General  of  Orleans  in  15.61  satisfied  neither  side. 
The  Huguenots  were  restless;  the  Bourbon  Princes 
tried  to  crush  the  Guises,  in  return  for  their  own 
imprisonment  the  year  before ;  the  Constable  was  of- 
fended by  the  encouragement  shown  to  the  Huguenots ; 


298  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

it  was  plain  that  new  changes  impended.  Montmo- 
rency began  them  by  going  over  to  the  Guises ;  and 
the  fatal  triumvirate  of  Fran9ois,  Due  de  Guise,  Mont- 
morency, and  St.  Andr^j  the  marshal,  was  formed. 
"We  find  the  King  of  Spain  forthwith  entering  the  field 
of  French  intrigues  and  politics,  as  the  support  and 
stay  of  this  triumvirate.  Parties  take  a  simpler  form  at 
once,  —  one  party  of  Catholics  and  another  of  Hugue- 
nots, with  the  Queen-mother  and  the  moderates  left 
powerless  between  them.  These  last,  guided  still  by 
L'Hopital,  once  more  convoked  the  States  General  at 
Pontoise :  the  nobles  and  the  Third  Estate  seemed 
to  side  completely  with  the  Queen  and  the  moderates ; 
a  controversy  between  Huguenots  and  Jesuits  at 
Poissy  only  added  to  the  discontent  of  the  Catholics, 
who  were  now  joined  by  foolish  Antoine,  King  of 
Navarre.  The  edict  of  January,  1562,  is  the  most 
remarkable  of  the  attempts  made  by  the  Queen-mother 
to  satisfy  the  Huguenots ;  but  party-passion  was  al- 
ready too  strong  for  it  to  succeed ;  civil  war  had 
become  inevitable. 

The  period  may  be  divided  into  four  parts :  (1) 
the  wars  before  the  establishment  of  the  League 
(1562-1570)  ;  (2)  the  period  of  the  St.  Bartholomew 
(1570-1573)  ;  (3)  the  struggle  of  the  new  Politique 
party  against  the  Leaguers  (1573-1589) ;  (4)  the 
efforts  of  Henri  IV.  to  crush  the  League  and  reduce 
the  country  to  peace  (1589-1598).     The  period  can 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF  VALOIS.      299 

-also  be  divided  by  that  series  of  agreements,  or  peaces, 
which  break  it  up  into  eight  wars. 

1.  The  war  of  1562,  on  the  skirts  of  which  Philip 
of  Spain  interfered  on  one  side,  and  Queen  Elizabeth 
with  the  Calvinistic  German  Princes  on  the  other, 
showed  at  once  that  the  Huguenots  were  by  far 
the  weaker  party.  The  English  troops  at  Havre 
enabled  them  at  first  to  command  the  lower  Seine 
up  to  Rouen ;  but  the  other  party,  after  a  long  siege 
which  cost  poor  Antoine  of  Navarre  his  life,  took  that 
place,  and  relieved  Paris  of  anxiety.  The  Huguenots 
had  also  spread  far  and  wide  over  the  south  and  west, 
occupying  Orleans  ;  the  bridge  of  Orleans  was  their 
point  of  junction  between  Poitou  and  Germany. 
While  the  strength  of  the  Catholics  lay  to  the  east, 
in  Picardy,  and  at  Paris,  the  Huguenot  power  was 
mostly  concentrated  in  the  south  and  west  of  France. 
Cond^,  who  commanded  at  Orleans,  supported  by 
German  allies,  made  an  attempt  on  Paris,  but  finding 
the  capital  too  strong  for  him,  turned  to  the  west, 
intending  to  join  the  English  troops  from  Havre. 
Montmorency,  however,  caught  him  at  Dreux ;  and 
in  the  battle  that  ensued,  the  Marshal  of  France,  Saint- 
Andre,  perished  ;  Cond^  was  captured  by  the  Catho- 
lics, Montmorency  by  the  Huguenots.  Coligny,  the 
admiral,  drew  off  his  defeated  troops  with  great  skill, 
and  fell  back  to  beyond  the  Loire  ;  the  Due  de  Guise 
remained  as  sole  head  of  the  Catholics.     Pushing  on 


300  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

his  advantage,  the  Duke  immediately  laid  siege  to 
Orleans,  and  there  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  a  Huguenot 
assassin.  Both  parties  had  suffered  so  much  that 
the  Queen-mother  thought  she  might  interpose  with 
terms  of  peace ;  the  Edict  of  Amboise  (March,  1563) 
closed  the  war,  allowing  the  Calvinists  freedom  of 
worship  in  the  towns  they  held,  and  some  other  scanty 
privileges.  A  three  years'  quiet  followed,  though  all 
men  suspected  their  neighbours,  and  the  high  Catholic 
party  tried  hard  to  make  Catherine  sacrifice  L'H6pital 
and  take  sharp  measures  with  the  Huguenots.  They 
on  their  side  were  restless  and  suspicious,  and  it  was 
felt  that  another  war  could  not  be  far  off.  Intrigues 
were  incessant,  all  men  thinking  to  make  their  profit 
out  of  the  weakness  of  France.  The  struggle  between 
Calvinists  and  Catholics  in  the  Netherlands  roused 
much  feeling,  though  Catherine  refused  to  favour  either 
party.  She  collected  an  army  of  her  own ;  it  was 
rumoured  that  she  intended  to  take  the  Huguenots  by 
surprise  and  annihilate  them.  In  autumn,  1567,  their 
patience  gave  way,  and  they  raised  the  standard  of 
revolt,  in  harmony  with  the  heroic  Netherlanders. 
Cond^  and  the  Ch^tillons  beleaguered  Paris  from  the 
north,  and  fought  the  battle  of  St.  Denis,  in  which 
the  old  Constable,  Anne  de  Montmorency,  was  killed. 
The  Huguenots,  however,  were  defeated  and  forced 
to  withdraw,  Cond^  marching  eastward  to  join  the 
German  troops  now  coming  up  to  his  aid.     No  more 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      301 

serious  fighting-  followed ;  the  Peace  of  Longjumeau 
(March,  1568),  closed  the  second  war,  leaving  mat- 
ters much  as  they  were.  The  aristocratic  resistance 
against  the  Catholic  sovereigns,  against  what  is  often 
called  the  "  Catholic  Reaction,"  had  proved  itself 
hollow ;  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  as  well 
as  in  France,  the  Protestant  cause  seemed  to  fail ;  it 
was  not  until  the  religious  question  became  mixed 
up  with  questions  as  to  political  rights  and  freedom, 
as  in  the  Low  Countries,  that  a  new  spirit  of  hope 
began  to  spring  up. 

The  Peace  of  Longjumeau  gave  no  security  to  the 
Huguenot  nobles ;  they  felt  that  the  assassin  might 
catch  them  any  day.  An  attempt  to  seize  Cond^  and 
Coligny  failed,  and  served  only  to  irritate  their  party ; 
Cardinal  Chatillon  escaped  to  England ;  Jeanne  of 
Navarre  and  her  young  son  Henri  took  refuge  at 
La  Rochelle  ;  L'Hopital  was  dismissed  the  Court.  The 
Queen-mother  seemed  to  have  thrown  off  her  cloak  of 
moderation,  and  to  be  ready  to  relieve  herself  of  the 
Huguenots  by  any  means,  fair  or  foul.  War  accord- 
ingly could  not  fail  to  break  out  again  before  the  end 
of  the  year.  Cond^  had  never  been  so  strong ;  with 
his  friends  in  England  and  the  Low  Countries,  and  the 
enthusiastic  support  of  a  great  party  of  nobles  and 
religious  adherents  at  home,  his  hopes  rose ;  he  even 
talked  of  deposing  the  Yalois  and  reigning  in  their 
stead.     He  lost  his  life,  however,  early  in  1569,  at 


302  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  battle  of  Jarnac.  Coligny  once  more  with  diffi- 
culty, as  at  Dreiix,  saved  the  broken  remnants  of  the 
defeated  Huguenots.  Conde's  death,  regarded  at  the 
time  by  the  Huguenots  as  an  irreparable  Cflamity, 
proved  in  the  end  to  be  no  serious  loss  ;  for  it  made 
room  for  the  true  head  of  the  party,  Henri  of  Na- 
varre. No  sooner  had  Jeanne  of  Navarre  heard  of 
the  mishap  of  Jarnac  than  she  came  into  the  Hugue- 
not camp  and  presented  to  the  soldiers  her  young  son 
Henri  and  the  young  Prince  de  Conde,  a  mere  child. 
Her  gallant  bearing  and  the  true  soldier-spirit  of  Co- 
ligny, who  shone  most  brightly  in  adversity,  restored 
their  temper ;  they  even  won  some  small  advantages. 
Before  long,  however,  the  Due  d'Anjou,  the  King's 
youngest  brother,  caught  and  punished  them  severely 
at  Moncontour.  Both  parties  thenceforward  wore 
themselves  out  with  desultory  warfare.  In  August, 
1570,  the  Peace  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye  closed  the 
third  war  and  ended  the  first  period. 

2.  It  was  the  most  favourable  Peace  the  Huguenots 
had  won  as  yet ;  it  secured  them,  besides  previous 
rights,  four  strongholds.  The  Catholics  were  dissatis- 
fied ;  they  could  not  sympathise  with  the  Queen-mother 
in  her  alarm  at  the  growing  strength  of  Philip  II., 
head  of  the  Catholics  in  Europe ;  they  dreaded  the 
existence  and  growing  influence  of  a  party  now  begin- 
ning to  receive  a  definite  name,  and  honourable  nick- 
name, the  Politiques.     These  were  that  large  body  of 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     303 

French  gentlemen  who  loved  the  honour  of  their  coun- 
try rather  than  their  religious  party,  and  who,  though 
Catholics,  were  yet  moderate  and  tolerant.  A  pair  of 
marriages  now  proposed  by  the  Court  amazed  them 
still  more.  It  was  suggested  that  the  Due  d'Anjou 
should  marry  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,  and  Henri 
of  Navarre,  Marguerite  de  Valois,  the  King's  sister. 
Charles  IX.  hoped  thus  to  be  rid  of  his  brother,  whom 
he  disliked,  and  to  win  powerful  support  against 
Spain,  by  the  one  match,  and  by  the  other  to  bring 
the  civil  wars  to  a  close.  The  sketch  of  a  far- 
reaching  resistance  to  Philip  II.  was  drawn  out ;  so 
convinced  of  his  good  faith  was  the  prudent  and 
sagacious  William  of  Orange,  that,  on  the  strength  of 
these  plans,  he  refused  good  terms  now  offered  him 
by  Spain.  The  Due  d'Alengon,  the  remaining  son 
of  Catherine,  the  brother  who  did  not  come  to  the 
throne,  was  deeply  interested  in  the  plans  for  a  war  in 
the  Netherlands ;  Anjou,  who  had  withdrawn  from 
the  scheme  of  marriage  with  Queen  Elizabeth,  was  at 
this  moment  a  candidate  for  the  throne  of  Poland; 
while  negotiations  respecting  it  were  going  on,  Mar- 
guerite de  Valois  was  married  to  Henri  of  Navarre, 
the  worst  of  wives  to  a  husband  none  too  good.  Co- 
ligny,  who  had  strongly  opposed  the  candidature  of 
Anjou  for  the  throne  of  Poland,  was  set  on  by  an 
assassin,  employed  by  the  Queen-mother  and  her 
favourite  son,  and  badly  wounded ;    the  Huguenots 


304  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

were  in  utmost  alarm,  filling  the  air  with  cries  and 
menaces.  Charles  showed  great  concern  for  his 
friend's  recovery,  and  threatened  vengeance  on  the 
assassins.  What  was  his  astonishment  to  learn  that 
those  assassins  were  his  mother  and  brother !  Cath- 
erine worked  on  his  fears,  and  the  plot  for  the  great 
massacre  was  combined  in  an  instant.  The  very  next 
day  after  the  King's, consent  was  wrung  from  him, 
24th  August,  1572,  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
day  took  place.  The  murder  of  Coligny  was  com- 
pleted ;  his  son-in-law  Teligny  perished  ;  all  the  chief 
Huguenots  were  slain ;  the  slaughter  spread  to  coun- 
try towns ;  the  Church  and  the  civil  power  were  at 
one,  and  the  victims,  taken  at  unawares,  could  make  no 
resistance.  The  two  Bourbons,  Henri  and  the  Prince 
de  Cond^,  were  spared ;  they  bought  their  lives  by  a 
sudden  conversion  to  Catholicism.  The  chief  guilt  of 
this  great  crime  lies  with  Catherine  de'  Medici ;  for, 
though  it  is  certain  that  she  did  not  plan  it  long  be- 
fore, assassination  was  a  recognised  part  of  her  way 
of  dealing  with  Huguenots. 

A  short  war  followed,  a  revolt  of  the  southern 
cities  rather  than  a  war.  They  made  tenacious  and 
heroic  resistance ;  a  large  part  of  the  royal  forces 
sympathised  rather  with  them  than  with  the  League ; 
and  in  July,  1573,  the  Edict  of  Boulogne  granted 
them  even  more  than  they  had  been  promised  by  the 
Peace  of  St.  Germain. 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE   OF    VALOIS.      305 

3.  We  have  reached  the  period  of  the  "  Wars  of 
the  League,"  as  the  four  later  civil  wars  are  often 
called.  The  last  of  the  four  is  alone  of  any  real 
importance. 

Just  as  the  Peace  of  La  E-ochelle  was  concluded, 
the  Due  d'Anjou,  having  been  elected  King  of  Po- 
land, left  Prance ;  it  was  not  long  before  troubles 
began  again.  The  Due  d'Alen^on  was  vexed  by  his 
mother's  neglect ;  as  heir  presumptive  to  the  crown 
he  thought  he  deserved  better  treatment,  and  sought 
to  'give  himself  consideration  by  drawing  towards  the 
middle  party ;  Catherine  seemed  to  be  intriguing 
for  the  ruin  of  that  party  ;  nothing  was  safe  while 
she  was  moving.  The  King  had  never  held  up  his 
head  since  the  St.  Bartholomew ;  it  was  seen  that 
he  now  was  dying,  and  the  Queen-mother  took  the 
opportunity  of  laying  hands  on  the  middle  party. 
She  arrested  Alen^on,  Montmorency,  and  Henri  of 
Navarre,  together  with  some  lesser  chiefs ;  in  the 
midst  of  it  all  Charles  IX.  died  (1574),  in  misery, 
leaving  the  ill-omened  crown  to  Henri  of  Anjou,  King 
of  Poland,  his  next  brother,  his  mother's  favourite, 
the  worst  of  a  bad  breed.  At  the  same  time  the 
fifth  civil  war  broke  out,  interesting  chiefly  because 
it  was  during  its  continuance  that  the  famous  League 
was  actually  formed. 

Henri  IH.,  when  he  heard  of  his  brother's  death, 
was  only  too  eager  to  slip  away  like  a  culprit  from 


306  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Poland,  though  he  showed  no  alacrity  in  returning  to 
France,  and  dallied  with  the  pleasures  of  Italy  for 
months.  An  attempt  to  draw  him  over  to  the  side  of 
the  Politiques  failed  completely  ;  he  attached  himself 
on  the  contrary  to  the  Guises,  and  plunged  into  the 
grossest  dissipation,  while  he  posed  himself  before 
men  as  a  good  and  zealous  Catholic.  The  Politiques 
and  Huguenots  therefore  made  a  compact  in  1575,  at 
Milhaud  on  the  Tarn,  and  chose  the  Prince  de  Condd 
as  their  head  ;  Henri  of  Navarre  escaped  from  Paris, 
threw  off  his  forced  Catholicism,  and  joined  them. 
Against  them  the  strict  Catholics  seemed  powerless ; 
the  Queen-mother  closed  this  war  with  the  Peace  of 
Chastenoy  (May,  1576),  with  terms  unusually  favour- 
able for  both  Politiques  and  Huguenots :  for  the 
latter,  free  worship  throughout  France,  except  at 
Paris  ;  for  the  chiefs  of  the  former,  great  governments, 
—  for  Alen^on  a  large  central  district,  for  Condd, 
Picardy,  for  Henri  of  Navarre,   Guienne. 

To  resist  all  this  the  high  Catholic  party  framed 
the  League  they  had  long  been  meditating ;  it  is  said 
that  the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine  had  sketched  it  years 
before,  at  the  time  of  the  later  sittings  of  the  Council 
of  Trent.  Lesser  compacts  had  already  been  made 
from  time  to  time  ;  now  it  was  proposed  to  form  one 
great  League,  towards  which  all  should  gravitate. 
The  head  of  the  League  was  Henri,  Due  de  Guise 
the  second,  "  Balafr^,"   who  had  won  that  title  in 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      307 

fighting  against  the  German  reiters  the  year  before, 
when  they  entered  France  under  Cond^.  He  cer- 
tainly hoped  at  this  time  to  succeed  to  the  throne  of 
France,  either  by  deposing  the  corrupt  and  feeble 
Henri  III.,  "  as  Pippin  dealt  with  Hilderik,"  or  by 
seizing  the  throne,  when  the  King's  debaucheries 
should  have  brought  him  to  the  grave.  The  Catho- 
lics of  the  more  advanced  type,  and  specially  the 
Jesuits,  now  in  the  first  flush  of  credit  and  success, 
supported  him  warmly.  The  headquarters  of  the 
movement  were  in  Picardy ;  its  first  object,  opposition 
to  the  establishment  of  Conde  as  governor  of  that 
province.  The  League  was  also  very  popular  with 
the  common  folk,  especially  in  the  towns  of  the  north. 
It  soon  found  that  Paris  was  its  natural  centre ; 
thence  it  spread  swiftly  across  the  whole  of  France; 
it  was  warmly  supported  by  Philip  of  Spain.  The 
States  General,  convoked  at  Blois  in  1576,  could  bring 
no  rest  to  France  ;  opinion  was  just  as  much  divided 
there  as  in  the  country  ;  and  the  year  1577  saw 
another  petty  war,  counted  as  the  sixth,  which  was 
closed  by  the  Peace  of  Bergerac,  another  ineffectual 
truce  which  settled  nothing.  It  was  a  peace  made 
with  the  Politiques  and  Huguenots  by  the  Court ;  it  is 
significant  of  the  new  state  of  affairs  that  the  League 
openly  refused  to  be  bound  by  it,  and  continued 
a  harassing,  objectless  warfare.  The  Due  d'Anjou 
(he   had    taken   that    title    on    his   brother    Henri's 


308  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

accession  to  the  throne)  in  1578  deserted  the  Court 
party,  towards  which  his  mother  had  drawn  him,  and 
made  friends  with  the  Calvinists  in  the  Netherlands. 
The  southern  provinces  named  him  "  Defender  of 
their  liberties ; "  they  had  hopes  he  might  wed  Ehz- 
abeth  of  England  ;  they  quite  mistook  their  man.  In 
1579  "  the  Gallants'  War "  broke  out ;  the  Leaguers 
had  it  all  their  own  way  ;  but  Henri  III.,  not  too 
friendly  to  them,  and  urged  by  his  brother  Anjou,  to 
whom  had  been  offered  sovereignty  over  the  seven 
united  provinces  in  1580,  offered  the  insurgents  easy 
terms,  and  the  Treaty  of  Fleix  closed  the  seventh  war. 
Anjou  in  the  Netherlands  could  but  show  his  weak- 
ness ;  nothing  went  well  with  him  ;  and  at  last,  hav- 
ing utterly  wearied  out  his  friends,  he  fled,  after  the 
failure  of  his  attempt  to  secure  Antwerp,  into  France. 
There  he  fell  ill  of  consumption  and  died  in  1584. 

This  changed  at  once  the  complexion  of  the  succes- 
sion question.  Hitherto,  though  no  children  seemed 
likely  to  be  born  to  him,  Henri  III.  was  young  and 
might  live  long,  and  his  brother  was  there  as  his  heir. 
Now,  Henri  III.  was  the  last  Prince  of  the  Valois,  and 
Henri  of  Navarre  in  hereditary  succession  was  heir  pre- 
smnptive  to  the  throne,  unless  the  Salic  law  were  to 
be  set  aside.  The  fourth  son  of  Saint  Louis,  Robert, 
Comte  de  Clermont,  who  married  Beatrix,  heiress  of 
Bourbon,  was  the  founder  of  the  House  of  Bourbon. 
Of  this  family  the  two  elder  branches  had  died  out: 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      309 

John,  who  had  been  a  central  figure  in  the  War  of  the 
Public  Weal,  in  1488  ;  Peter,  husband  of  Anne  of 
France,  in  1503  ;  neither  of  them  leaving  heirs  male. 
Of  the  younger  branch  Fran9ois  died  in  1525,  and  the 
famous  Conn^table  de  Bourbon  in  1527.  This  left  as 
the  only  representatives  of  the  family,  the  Comtes  de  La 
Marche ;  of  these  the  elder  had  died  out  in  1438,  and 
the  junior  alone  survived  in  the  Comtes  de  VendSme. 
The  head  of  this  branch,  Charles,  was  made  Due 
de  VendQme  by  Francois  I.  in  1515 ;  he  was  father  of 
Antoine,  Due  de  Vend6me.  who,  by  marrying  the  he- 
roic Jeanne  d'Albret,  became  King  of  Navarre,  and 
of  Louis,  who  founded  the  House  of  Conde ;  lastly, 
Antoine  was  the  father  of  Henri  IV.  He  was,  there- 
fore, a  very  distant  cousin  to  Henri  III ;  the  Houses  of 
Capet,  of  Alengon,  of  Orleans,  of  Angouleme,  of  Maine, 
and  of  Burgundy,  as  well  as  the  elder  Bourbons,  had  to 
fall  extinct  before  Henri  of  Navarre  could  become 
heir  to  the  crown.  All  this,  however,  had  now  hap- 
pened ;  and  the  Huguenots  greatly  rejoiced  in  the 
prospect  of  a  Calvinist  King.  The  Politique  party 
showed  no  ill-will  towards  him ;  both  they  and  the 
Court  party  declared  that  if  he  would  become  once 
more  a  Catholic  they  would  rally  to  him ;  the  Guises 
and  the  League  were  naturally  all  the  more  firmly  set 
against  him ;  and  Henri  of  Navarre  saw  that  he 
could  not  as  yet  safely  endanger  his  influence  with 
the   Huguenots,  while  his  conversion  would  not  dis- 


310  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

arm  the  hostility  of  the  League.  They  had  before 
this  put  forward  as  heir  to  the  throne  Henri's  uncle, 
the  wretched  old  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  who  had  all  the 
faults  and  none  of  the  good  qualities  of  his  brother 
Antoine.  Under  cover  of  his  name  the  Due  de  Guise 
hoped  to  secure  the  succession  for  himself;  he  also 
sold  himself  and  his  party  to  Philip  of  Spain,  who 
was  now  in  fullest  expectation  of  a  final  triumph  over 
his  foes.  He  had  assassinated  William  the  Silent; 
any  day  Elizabeth  or  Henri  of  Navarre  might  be 
found  murdered ;  the  domination  of  Spain  over  Europe 
seemed  almost  secured.  The  pact  of  Joinville,  signed 
between  Philip,  Guise,  and  Mayenne,  gives  us  the 
measure  of  the  aims  of  the  high  Catholic  party. 
Paris  warmly  sided  with  them ;  the  new  development 
of  the  League,  the  "  Sixteen  of  Paris,"  one  represen- 
tative for  each  of  the  districts  of  the  capital,  formed 
a  vigorous  organisation  and  called  for  the  King's 
deposition ;  they  invited  Henri,  Due  de  Guise,  to 
Paris.  Soon  after  this  Henri  HI.  humbled  himself, 
and  signed  the  Treaty  of  Nemours  (1585)  with  the 
Leaguers.  He  hereby  became  nominal  head  of  the 
League  and  its  real  slave. 

The  eighth  war,  the  "  War  of  the  Three  Henries," 
that  is,  of  Henri  III.  and  Henri  de  Guise  against 
Henri  of  Navarre,  now  broke  out.  The  Pope  made 
his  voice  heard ;  Sixtus  excommunicated  the  Bour- 
bons, Henri   and   Conde,  and  blessed  the  Leaguers. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      311 

For  the  first  time  there  was  some  real  life  in  one  of 
these  civil  wars,  for  Henri  of  Navarre  rose  nobly 
to  the  level  of  his  troubles.  At  first  the  balance  of 
successes  was  somewhat  in  favour  of  the  Leaguers ; 
the  political  atmosphere  grew  even  more  threatening, 
and  terrible  things,  like  lightning  flashes,  gleamed 
out  now  and  again.  Such,  for  example,  was  the  exe- 
cution of  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,  in  1586.  It 
was  known  that  Philip  II.  was  preparing  to  crush 
England.  Elizabeth  did  what  she  could  to  support 
Henri  of  Navarre ;  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  win 
the  battle  of  Coutras,  in  which  the  Due  de  Joyeuse, 
one  of  the  favourites  of  Henri  III.,  was  defeated  and 
killed.  The  Due  de  Guise,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
too  strong  for  the  Germans,  who  had  marched  into 
France  to  join  the  Huguenots,  and  defeated  them  at 
Vimroy  and  Auneau,  after  which  he  marched  in 
triumph  to  Paris,  in  spite  of  the  orders  and  opposi- 
tion of  the  King,  who,  finding  himself  powerless, 
withdrew  to  Chartres.  Once  more  Henri  III.  was 
obliged  to  accept  such  terms  as  the  Leaguers  chose 
to  impose ;  and  with  rage  in  his  heart  he  signed  the 
"  Edict  of  Union "  (1588),  in  which  he  named  the 
Due  de  Guise  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom, 
and  declared  that  no  heretic  could  succeed  to  the 
throne.  Unable  to  endure  the  humiliation,  Henri 
III.,  that  same  winter,  assassinated  the  Due  and  the 
Cardinal  de  Guise,  and  seized  many  leaders  of  the 


312  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

League,  though  he  missed  the  Due  de  Mayenne. 
This  s'candalous  murder  of  the  "  King  of  Paris,"  as 
the  capital  fondly  called  the  Duke,  brought  the 
wretched  King  no  solace  or  power.  His  mother  did 
not  live  to  see  the  end  of  her  son ;  she  died  in  this 
the  darkest  period  of  his  career,  and  must  have  been 
aware  that  her  cunning  and  her  immoral  life  had 
brought  nothing  but  misery  to  herself  and  all  her 
race.  The  power  of  the  League  party  seemed  as 
great  as  ever ;  the  Due  de  Mayenne  entered  Paris, 
and  declared  open  war  on  Henri  III.,  who,  after  some 
hesitation,  threw  himself  into  the  hands  of  his  cousin 
Henri  of  Navarre  in  the  spring  of  1589.  The  old 
Politique  party  now  rallied  to  the  King ;  the  Hugue- 
nots were  stanch  for  their  old  leader ;  things  looked 
less  dark  for  them  since  the  destruction  of  the  Span- 
ish Armada  in  the  previous  summer.  The  Swiss, 
aroused  by  the  threats  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  at 
Geneva,  joined  the  Germans,  who  once  more  en- 
tered northeastern  France ;  the  Leaguers  were  unable 
to  make  head  either  against  them  or  against  the 
armies  of  the  two  Kings ;  they  fell  back  on  Paris, 
and  the  allies  hemmed  them  in.  The  defence  of  the 
capital  was  but  languid  ;  the  populace  missed  their 
idol,  the  Due  de  Guise,  and  the  moderate  party, 
never  extinguished,  recovered  strength.  All  looked 
as  if  the  royalists  would  soon  reduce  the  last  strong- 
hold of  the  League,  when  Henri  HI.  was  suddenly 


HISTORY  OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.     313 

slain  by  the  dagger  of  a  fanatical  half-witted  priest. 
The  King  had  only  time  to  commend  Henri  of 
Navarre  to  his  courtiers  as  his  heir,  and  to  exhort 
him  to  become  a  Catholic,  before  he  closed  his  eyes, 
and  ended  the  long  roll  of  his  vices  and  crimes. 
And  thus  in  crime  and  shame  the  House  of  Yalois 
went  down.  For  a  few  years,  the  throne  remained 
practically  vacant :  the  heroism  of  Henri  of  Navarre, 
the  loss  of  strength  in  the  Catholic  powers,  the  want 
of  a  vigorous  head  to  the  League,  —  these  things  all 
sustained  the  Bourbon  in  his  arduous  struggle ;  the 
middle  party  grew  in  strength  daily,  and  when  once 
Henri  had  allowed  himself  to  be  converted,  he  became 
the  national  sovereign,  the  national  favourite,  and  the 
high  Catholics  fell  to  the  fatal  position  of  an  unpa- 
triotic faction  depending  on  the  arm  of  the  foreigner. 
4.  The  civil  wars  were  not  over,  for  the  heat  of 
party  raged  as  yet  unslaked ;  the  Politiques  could  not 
all  at  once  adopt  a  Huguenot  King,  the  League  party 
had  pledged  itself  to  resist  the  heretic,  and  Henri  at 
first  had  little  more  than  the  Huguenots  at  his  back. 
There  were  also  formidable  claimants  for  the  throne. 
Charles  II.,  Due  de  Lorraine,  who  had  married 
Claude,  younger  daughter  of  Henri  H.,  and  who  was 
therefore  brother-in-law  to  Henri  IIL,  set  up  a  vague 
claim ;  the  King  of  Spain,  Philip  II.,  thought  that  the 
Salic  law  had  prevailed  long  enough  in  France,  and 
that  his  own  wife,  the  elder  daughter  of  Henri  II., 


314  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

had  the  best  claim  to  the  throne ;  the  Guises,  though 
their  head  was  gone,  still  hoping  for  the  crown,  pro- 
claimed their  sham-king,  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  as 
Charles  X.,  and  intrigued  behind  the  shadow  of  his 
name.  The  Due  de  Mayenne,  their  present  chief, 
was  the  most  formidable  of  Henri's  opponents ;  his 
party  called  for  a  convocation  of  States  General,  which 
should  choose  a  King  to  succeed,  or  to  replace,  their 
feeble  Charles  X.  During  this  struggle  the  high 
Catholic  party,  inspired  by  Jesuit  advice,  stood  for- 
ward as  the  admirers  of  constitutional  principles  ;  they 
called  on  the  nation  to  decide  the  question  as  to  the 
succession ;  their  Jesuit  friends  wrote  books  on  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people.  They  summoned  up  troops 
from  every  side ;  the  Due  de  Lorraine  sent  his  son  to 
resic:t  Henri  and  support  his  own  claim ;  the  King  of 
Spain  sent  a  body  of  men  ;  the  League  princes  brought 
what  force  they  could.  Henri  of  Navarre  at  the 
same  moment  found  himself  weakened  by  the  silent 
withdrawal  from  his  camp  of  the  army  of  Henri  III.; 
tho  Politique  nobles  did  not  care  at  first  to  throw  in 
their  lot  with  the  Huguenot  chieftain ;  they  offered  to 
confer  on  Henri  the  post  of  commander-in-chief,  and 
to  reserve  the  question  as  to  the  succession ;  they  let 
him  know  that  they  recognised  his  hereditary  rights, 
and  were  hindered  only  by  his  heretical  opinions  ;  if 
he  would  but  be  converted  they  were  his.  Henri  tem- 
porised ;  his  true  strength,  for  the  time,  lay   in   his 


HISTORY   OF   THE    HOUSE   OF  VALOIS.     315 

iluguenot  followers,  rugged  and  faithful  fighting  men, 
whose  belief  was  the  motive  power  of  their  allegiance 
and  of  their  courage.  If  he  joined  the  Politiques  at 
their  price,  the  price  of  declaring  himself  Catholic, 
the  Huguenots  would  be  offended  if  not  alienated. 
So  he  neither  absolutely  refused  nor  said  yes ;  and  the 
chief  Catholic  nobles  in  the  main  stood  aloof,  watch- 
ing the  struggle  between  Huguenot  and  Leaguer,  as 
it  worked  out  its  course. 

Henri,  thus  weakened,  abandoned  the  siege  of 
Paris,  and  fell  back ;  with  the  bulk  of  his  forces  he 
marched  into  Normandy,  so  as  to  be  within  reach  of 
English  succour ;  a  considerable  army  went  into  Cham- 
pagne, to  be  ready  to  join  any  Swiss  or  German  help 
that  might  come.  These  were  the  great  days  in  the 
life  of  Henri  of  Navarre.  Henri  showed  himself  a 
hero,  who  strove  for  a  great  cause  —  the  cause  of 
European  freedom  —  as  well  as  for  his  own  crown. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  followed  the  Huguenots  down 
into  the  west,  and  found  Henri  awaiting  him  in  a 
strong  position  at  Arques,  near  Dieppe ;  here  at  bay, 
the  "  B^arnais  "  inflicted  a  heavy  blow  on  his  assail- 
ants ;  Mayenne  fell  back  into  Picardy ;  the  Prince  of 
Lorraine  drew  off  altogether ;  and  Henri  marched 
triumphantly  back  to  Paris,  ravaged  the  suburbs  and 
then  withdrew  to  Tours,  where  he  was  recognised  as 
King  by  the  Parliament.  His  campaign  of  1589  had 
been  most  successful ;  he  had  defeated  the  League  in  a 


316  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

great  battle,  thanks  to  his  skilful  use  of  his  position 
at  Arques,  and  the  gallantry  of  his  troops,  which 
more  than  counterbalanced  the  great  disparity  in  num- 
bers. He  had  seen  dissension  break  out  among  his 
enemies ;  even  the  Pope,  Sixtus,  had  shown  him  some 
favour,  and  the  Politique  nobles  were  certainly  not 
going  against  him.  Early  in  1590  Henri  had  secured 
Anjou,  Maine,  and  Normandy,  and  in  March  defeated 
Mayenne,  in  a  great  pitched  battle  at  Ivry,  not  far 
from  Dreux.  The  Leaguers  fell  back  in  consternation 
to  Paris.  Henri  reduced  all  the  country  round  the 
capital,  and  sat  down  before  it  for  a  stubborn  siege. 
The  Duke  of  Parma  had  at  that  time  his  hands  full 
in  the  Low  Countries ;  young  Prince  Maurice  was 
beginning  to  show  his  great  abilities  as  a  soldier,  and 
had  got  possession  of  Breda ;  all,  however,  had  to  be 
suspended  by  the  Spaniards  on  that  side,  rather  than 
let  Henri  of  Navarre  take  Paris.  Parma  with  great 
skill  relieved  the  capital  without  sti'iking  a  blow,  and 
the  campaign  of  1590  ended  in  a  failure  for  Henri. 
The  success  of  Parma,  however,  made  Frenchmen  feel 
that  Henri's  was  the  national  cause,  and  that  the 
League  flourished  only  by  interference  of  the  foreigner. 
Were  the  King  of  Navarre  but  a  Catholic,  he  should 
be  a  King  of  France  of  whom  they  might  all  be  proud. 
This  feeling  was  strengthened  by  the  death  of  the  old 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  which  reopened  at  once  the 
succession  question,  and  compelled  Philip  of  Spain  to 


HISTORY   OF    THE   HOUSE    OF   V ALOIS.      317 

show  his  hand.  He  now  claimed  the  throne  for  his 
daughter  Elisabeth,  as  eldest  daughter  of  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Henri  II.  All  the  neighbours  of  France 
claimed  something ;  Frenchmen  felt  that  it  was  either 
Henri  lY.  or  dismemberment.  The  "  Bearnais  "  grew 
in  men's  minds  to  be  the  champion  of  the  Salic  law, 
of  the  hereditary  principle  of  royalty  against  feudal 
weakness,  of  unity  against  dismemberment,  of  the 
nation  against  the  foreigner. 

The  middle  party,  the  Politiques  of  Europe,  —  the 
English,  that  is,  and  the  Germans,  —  sent  help  to 
Henri,  by  means  of  which  he  was  able  to  hold  his  own 
in  the  northwest  and  southwest  throughout  1591. 
Late  in  the  year  the  violence  of  the  Sixteen  of  Paris 
drew  on  them  severe  punishment  from  the  Due  de 
Mayenne;  and  consequently  the  Duke  ceased  to  be 
the  recognised  head  of  the  League,  which  now  looked 
entirely  to  Philip  II.  and  Parma,  while  Paris  ceased 
to  be  its  headquarters ;  and  more  moderate  counsels 
having  taken  the  place  of  its  fierce  fanaticism,  the 
capital  came  under  the  authority  of  the  lawyers  and 
citizens,  instead  of  the  priesthood  and  the  bloodthirsty 
mob.  Henri,  meanwhile,  who  was  closely  beleaguering 
Rouen,  was  again  outgeneralled  by  Parma,  and  had  to 
raise  the  siege.  Parma,  following  him  westward,  was 
wounded  at  Caudebec;  and  though  he  carried  his 
army  triumphantly  back  to  the  Netherlands,  his  career 
was  ended  by  this  trifling  wound.  He  did  no  more,  and 
died  in  1592. 


318  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

In  1593,  Mayenne,  having  sold  his  own  claims  to 
Philip  of  Spain,  the  opposition  to  Henri  looked  more 
solid  and  dangerous  than  ever ;  he  therefore  thought 
the  time  was  come  for  the  great  step  which  should 
rally  to  him  all  the  moderate  Catholics.  After  a 
decent  period  of  negotiation  and  conferences,  he  de- 
clared himself  convinced,  and  heard  mass  at  St.  Denis. 
The  conversion  had  immediate  effect;  it  took  the 
heart  out  of  the  opposition ;  city  after  city  came  in ; 
the  longing  for  peace  was  strong  in  every  breast,  and 
the  conversion  seemed  to  remove  the  last  obstacle. 
The  Huguenots,  little  as  they  liked  it,  could  not  op- 
pose the  step,  and  hoped  to  profit  by  their  champion's 
improved  position.  Their  ablest  man,  Sully,  had  even 
advised  Henri  to  make  the  plunge.  In  1594,  Paris 
opened  her  gates  to  Henri,  who  had  been  solemnly 
crowned,  just  before,  at  Chartres.  He  was  welcomed 
with  immense  enthusiasm,  and  from  that  day  onwards 
has  ever  been  the  favourite  hero  of  the  capital.     By 

1595  only  one  foe  remained,  —  the  Spanish  Court. 
The  League  was  now  completely  broken  up  ;  the  Par- 
liament of  Paris  gladly  aided  the  King  to  expel  the 
Jesuits  from  France.  In  November,  1595,  Henri 
declared  war  against  Spain,  for  anything  was  better 
than  the  existing  state  of  things,  in  which  Philip'a 
hand  secretly  supported  all  opposition.     The  war  in 

1596  was  far  from  being  successful  for  Henri ;  he  was 
comforted,  however,  by  receiving  at  last  the  papal 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HOUSE   OF   VALOIS.      319 

absolution,  which  swept  away  the  last  scruples  of 
France. 

By  rewards  and  kindliness,  —  for  Henri  was  always 
willing  to  give  and  had  a  pleasant  word  for  all, — 
most  of  the  reluctant  nobles,  headed  by  the  Due  de 
Mayenne  himself,  came  in  in  the  course  of  1596.  Still 
the  war  pressed  very  heavily,  and  early  in  1597  the 
capture  of  Amiens  by  the  Spaniards  alarmed  Paris, 
and  roused  the  King  to  fresh  energies.  With  help  of 
Sully  (who  had  not  yet  received  the  title  by  which 
he  is  known  in  history)  Henri  recovered  Amiens,  and 
checked  the  Spanish  advance.  It  was  noticed  that 
while  the  old  Leaguers  came  very  heartily  to  the  King's 
help,  the  Huguenots  hung  back  in  a  discontented  and 
suspicious  spirit.  After  the  fall  of  Amiens  the  war 
languished ;  the  Pope  offered  to  mediate,  and  Henri 
had  time  to  breathe.  He  felt  that  his  old  comrades, 
the  offended  Huguenots,  had  good  cause  for  com- 
plaint; and  in  April,  1598,  he  issued  the  famous 
Edict  of  Nantes,  which  secured  their  position  for 
nearly  a  century.  They  got  toleration  for  their  opin- 
ions ;  might  worship  openly  in  all  places,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  towns  in  which  the  League  had 
been  strong ;  were  qualified  to  hold  office  in  financial 
posts  and  in  the  law;  had  a  Protestant  chamber  in 
the  Parliaments. 

Immediately  after  the  publication  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  the  Treaty  of  Yervins  was  signed.     Though 


820  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Henri  by  it  broke  faith  with  Queen  Elizabeth,  he 
secured  an  honourable  peace  for  his  country,  an  undis- 
puted kingship  for  himself.  It  was  the  last  act  of 
Philip  II.,  the  confession  that  his  great  schemes  were 
unfulfilled,  his  policy  a  failure. 


THE   END. 


DATE  DUE 

'! 

DEMCO  38-297 

